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* SAP gains as cloud sales boost Q1
* Luxury stocks rise after LVMH results
* Economic institutes will cut 2021 German GDP forecast
-sources
(Updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
April 14 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Wednesday on
upbeat earnings from software firm SAP and French luxury goods
maker LVMH, while German shares lagged after sources said the
country's economic institutes cut 2021 GDP forecast.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2%, closing
just 0.2% shy of record highs, as an impressive bounce-back in
sales saw LVMH scale a record highs, spurring gains in
other luxury names.
Germany's DAX index ended 0.2% lower. Economic
institutes will cut their joint 2021 growth forecast for
Europe's largest economy to 3.7% from 4.7%, sources said, due to
a longer than expected COVID-19 lockdown.
Data earlier in the day showed euro zone industrial output
declined as anticipated in February, including in Germany,
dampening prospects for economic growth in the first quarter.
"But underlying demand is strong and that makes us upbeat
about prospects for the bloc as it reopens later in the year,"
said Bert Colijn, senior economist, eurozone at ING.
Germany's SAP jumped 1.1% as it raised 2021
revenue outlook higher after reporting a quarterly rise in cloud
sales.
Upbeat results from big U.S. banks JPMorgan Chase,
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo also boosted
sentiment.
Earnings helped offset concerns about a potential setback to
the Europe's COVID-19 vaccination programme after Johnson &
Johnson said it would delay rolling out its vaccine in
Europe.
European stocks have notched all-time highs in recent days
on hopes of a strong quarterly reporting season, as well as a
rapid recovery in the global economy despite a resurgent
COVID-19 pandemic.
"The economic rebound may not be as robust as expected if
consumers continue to play it safe after an initial bout of
revelling, which could bring company profits in below
expectations, and moderate demand for riskier areas of the
market," said Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell.
"While investors shouldn't ignore these downside scenarios,
the central case remains a gradual reopening of the global
economy as vaccines steadily bring the pandemic under control."
Earnings for companies listed on the STOXX 600 are expected
to jump 55.7% in the first quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES
data, more than the 47.4% rise forecast a week earlier.
Britain's biggest retailer Tesco fell 2% after
reporting a 20% drop in full-year pretax profit, while British
airline easyJet rose 5.8% after saying it expected to
start to fly more from late May.
Miners gained after Goldman Sachs painted a robust
outlook for copper miners, adding there is potential for
re-rating stocks higher as investors increasingly seek exposure
in the red metal.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Shounak Dasgupta)
