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April 16 (Reuters) - European shares rose in early trading
on Thursday as daily coronavirus death tolls in both Spain and
Italy eased, while a defiant statement on the crisis from two of
the continent's big budget airlines helped battered travel
stocks recover.
The latest numbers from two of Europe's hot spots in the
outbreak added to signs the pandemic was plateauing in some
countries, and the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose
1.2% by 0703 GMT.
British budget carrier easyJet soared 9% after
saying it expected to be able to survive a lengthy fleet
grounding due to the steps it had taken to shore up its
finances, pulling the wider travel and leisure index up
2.3%.
Bigger rival Ryanair told Reuters on Wednesday it
was steeling itself for an airline price war that it expected to
win once coronavirus restrictions are lifted and passengers
flock back to tourist destinations.
German online fashion retailer Zalando also jumped
8% as it said it was optimistic about the second quarter after
sales picked up in April.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; editing by
Patrick Graham)
