European banks surge on strong Q1 results from U.S. peers

By Joice Alves

LONDON (Reuters) – European banks surged on Friday, rising to a one-month high, gaining support from U.S. lenders, which reported better-than-expected results in the first quarter.

The STOXX 600 index of European banks gained as much as 3% to reach its highest since mid-March after JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo beat estimates.

Banks largely outperformed the broader market, with the STOXX 600 index climbing 0.6% as risk assets gained support from expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve may soon finish raising interest rates.

Germanys Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank rose 5% and 4.2%. Societe Generale, UBS, Credit Suisse and BPER Banca rose between 2% and 4%.

In London, Standard Chartered shares rose 4.3% to three-week highs, Barclays shares were up 3%, touching a five-week high, while HSBC shares up 3.1% to one month highs.

(Reporting by Joice Alves; Editing by Amanda Cooper)