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* UK airlines shine
* Europe Inc Q2 profit growth estimates revised higher
* Investors wait for Fed decision
(Adds comments, details, graphic; updates prices throughout)
By Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal
July 28 (Reuters) - European stocks gained on Wednesday as
encouraging earnings reports from British bank Barclays and
luxury group Kering helped investors look past worries about
China's regulatory crackdown that kept markets on edge this
week.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% after
two sessions of declines.
Barclays jumped 2.0% as it announced resumption of
shareholder payouts after beating first-half profit
expectations, while German lender Deutsche Bank edged
up after it delivered a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
The tech sector was propped up by a 3.8% rise in Capgemini
after the French consulting and IT services provider
raised its 2021 outlook.
French luxury group Kering rose 3.6% as
second-quarter sales nearly doubled, with its star fashion label
Gucci accelerating sharply.
Analysts expect companies listed on the STOXX 600 to report
profit growth of 120.8% in the second quarter versus 115.2%
forecast last week, a Refinitiv IBES estimate found.
"The underlying foundations for the market remain as they
were. We've got good companies producing better earnings," said
David Miller, investment director at Quilter Cheviot Investment
Management.
"Ratings are certainly higher than they were, but they're
being backed up by earnings growth, and central banks continue
to be supportive."
European stock markets outpaced Wall Street's benchmark S&P
500 index on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal
Reserve's policy decision later in the day, with investors
waiting for any clues on the timing of tapering as policymakers
face spiking inflation in the world's largest economy.
"It is unlikely to be a particularly exciting FOMC meeting,
but there may be hints regarding the process of tapering of
asset purchases," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at
IG.
Wizz Air jumped 8.0% after the Hungarian airline
forecast capacity to ramp up to between 90% and 100% of
pre-pandemic levels in July and August.
Other airlines, including easyJet and British
Airways-operator IAG, also gained on Britain's decision
to exempt double-vaccinated visitors from the European Union and
the United States from quarantine.
In deal-making, Adecco Group tumbled 7.9% as it
said it agreed to buy AKKA Technologies in a deal worth
2 billion euros ($2.4 billion), the biggest deal in the Swiss
staffing company's 25-year history.
Telecom Italia edged 0.3% higher on saying it may
seek investors for its cloud and wholesale undersea cable
businesses as it looks to extract value from its assets.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Barbara Lewis)
