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* Clariant jumps on closing masterbatches unit sale
* Energy stocks rebound as oil prices climb
* Germany's DAX, some others hit by technical glitch
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Julien Ponthus
July 1 (Reuters) - Hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine pulled
European stocks from losses earlier on Wednesday, after fears of
a no-deal Brexit and anxieties relating to the European Union's
recovery fund had weighed on sentiment.
Ending a choppy session, the pan-European STOXX 600 index
rose 0.2%, with blue-chip indexes in Paris,
Milan and London down about 0.2%
Markets on both sides of the Atlantic got a boost as a
COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and German
biotech firm BioNTech showed promise and was found to
be well tolerated in early-stage human trials.
A series of business surveys released earlier showed broad
improvements in manufacturing across Europe and Asia as
economies opened up, with IHS Markit's final euro zone
Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) moving closer to
the 50-mark separating growth from contraction in June.
Improving economic data out of the United States also buoyed
sentiment.
"The coronavirus vaccine news coupled with ADP datapoint are
acting as positive catalysts, lifting investor sentiment," said
Stephane Ekolo, a strategist at TFS Derivatives.
The STOXX 600 shed more than 1% in afternoon trading as
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that there was a
possibility that no deal would be agreed between the European
Union and Britain, with "very limited" progress made in
negotiations about their future relationship.
This comes as rating agency S&P Global cut its UK forecasts
for the year again and warned of a possible "perfect storm"
formed by a second wave of coronavirus infections and a no-deal
Brexit.
Investors were also anxious about the European Union member
states approving a 750 billion euro recovery fund at a summit
later this month.
Morning trading in some European markets, including
Germany's DAX and Austria, was hit by a
"technical issue" with the Frankfurt-based cash market system
Xetra, exchange operator Deutsche Boerse said.
After a nearly three-hour outage, the DAX was down 0.4% and
the Austrian index rose 0.3%.
Among individual stocks, Swiss speciality chemicals maker
Clariant jumped 7% as it completed the $1.6 billion sale
of its masterbatches unit to PolyOne Corp, allowing the
payment of a special dividend amounting to $3 per share.
Energy firms such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell
rebounded from losses in the previous session as oil
prices rose after a report showed U.S. crude stockpiles posted a
bigger drop than expected.
Travel & leisure stocks were the top gainers.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila and Alexandra Hudson)
