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* UK banks slip after Britain exits EU's orbit
* TUI jumps as CEO expects 'largely normal' summer
* Remy Cointreau slips after Kepler downgrade
(Updates prices throughout, adds comment)
By Amal S and Shreyashi Sanyal
Jan 4 (Reuters) - European shares rallied in the first
trading session of the year on Monday, as a landmark Brexit
trade deal and coronavirus vaccination campaigns across the
continent bolstered expectations of a strong economic rebound.
The pan-regional STOXX 600 index gained 0.7% to
touch fresh February 2020 highs, with economically sensitive
mining jumping more than 3%.
Germany-listed shares in the world's biggest holiday company
TUI rose 2.7% after its chief executive told
a newspaper that he expects "a largely normal summer" this year.
Germany's DAX was up 0.1% after a long weekend to
trade below all-time highs, while France's CAC 40 added
0.7%.
Global stocks hit record highs, with the STOXX 600
recovering about 50% from its March 2020 trough as investors
pinned their hopes on coronavirus vaccines to fuel a speedy
economic bounceback.
Britain began vaccinating its population with the COVID-19
shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on
Monday.
"The distribution of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University
COVID-19 vaccine is also behind the broader positive move in
European stocks," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC
Markets in London.
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, a survey showed German
factories churned out more goods in December despite a stricter
lockdown to head off a spike in coronavirus deaths.
IHS Markit's final Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for
manufacturing rose to 58.3 from 57.8 the previous month.
London's blue-chip index gained 1.7% in its first
day of trading with Britain outside the European Union's orbit.
While the hard-fought trade deal agreed late December set
rules for industries such as fishing and agriculture, it did not
cover Britain's much larger finance sector, meaning automatic
access to the EU's financial markets came to an end on Dec. 31.
Shares in UK banks such as Lloyds Banking Group,
Barclays and Natwest fell between 0.7% and 3%,
while the broader European banking index fell 0.8%.
In a bright spot, however, Ladbrokes owner Entain Plc
jumped 25.3% after it confirmed an $11 billion bid
proposal from U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts, which it said
significantly undervalued its business.
UK betting firms like Flutter Entertainment,
William Hill and 888 rose between 2.6% and 3.5%.
French wine and spirits maker Remy Cointreau
slipped 0.2% as brokerage Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the stock
to "hold" after a U.S. decision last week to impose additional
tariffs on French wines and cognac.
(Reporting by Amal S and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shailesh Kuber and Lisa Shumaker)
