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* Tech stocks surge after recent selloff
* China policy easing lifts miners
* Defensive stocks see selling
(Updates to close)
By Anisha Sircar and Susan Mathew
Dec 7 (Reuters) - European stocks jumped 2.5% on Tuesday,
boosted by a strong rebound in technology shares as worries
somewhat eased over the Omicron coronavirus variant, while
German shares surged close to 3% led by automakers.
The continent-wide STOXX 600 index logged its best
session since last November, bouncing back to levels before
worries emerged about the new virus variant.
"Last week's sellers have been rudely pushed out of the way
in a mad scramble to get back into equities now that Omicron
fears are receding almost as fast as they appeared. Billions
have been 'wiped on' to share prices since Friday's lows,
December living up to its reputation as one of the strongest
months for equities," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst
at IG.
Technology stocks surged 5.6% after hitting
seven-week lows on Monday, while miners jumped as copper
and iron ore prices were lifted by biggest consumer China easing
its monetary policy.
"There's relief that although global fiscal policy is set to
tighten over the next six months, it's not going to be within
the next month," said AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson.
The STOXX 600 is just about 2% below its record high from
mid-November, while the Euro STOXX 50 volatility index,
Europe's fear gauge, fell to 14.87. At the peak of the selloff
in markets, it hit 33.1.
Luxury stocks were among the biggest boosts, lifting
France's CAC 40 2.9%, while Porsche and
Volkswagen led auto stocks higher.
The carmakers jumped over 8% each after a report that the
Porsche and Piech families, who control Volkswagen's largest
shareholder, are considering selling part of their VW stake and
using the proceeds to buy a substantial number of shares in
Porsche.
Carmaker Stellantis advanced 3.6% on plans to
generate around 4 billion euros ($4.52 billion) by 2026 and
about 20 billion euros by 2030 from software offerings.
Among individual stocks, British American Tobacco
gained 1.0% after backing its full-year forecast, buoyed by more
people switching to the tobacco giant's vaping and oral nicotine
products.
Defensive sectors such as healthcare and food &
beverages were among decliners on STOXX 600.
(Reporting by Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini
Ganguli and Bernadette Baum)
