Europe open: Stocks bounce as authorities announce stimulus and containment measures

(Sharecast News) - Stocks on the Continent are staging a bounce after US officials promised to ramp up spending to help prop up the economy, alongside a further decline in new coronavirus cases in the People's Republic of China and new containment measures in Italy and Spain.
There was also ongoing speculation that central banks around the world would step up the plate, with many analysts holding out the possibility that the Federal Reserve, for one, might be set to lower official short-term interest rates to zero by year-end 2020.

On that note, CMC Markets UK's chief market analyst, Michael Hewson, said: "The larger question is not only whether today's rebound can stick, but whether policymakers can deliver, on that the jury remains out."

As of 1100 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 2.82% higher to 349.08, alongside a 3.11% rise for the Cac-40 to 4,854.94, while the FTSE Mibtel was adding 1.44% to 18,733.14.

Helping to steady sentiment, front month Brent crude oil futures appeared to be rallying, advancing by 9.53% to $37.98 a barrel on the ICE.

Volatility was also lower, with the VStoxx gauge of volatility for the Euro Stoxx 50 coming off the boil and standing down 12.01% at 47.35.

Oil & Gas stocks were bouncing alongside, with the Stoxx 600 sector gauge adding 6.46% to 217.56, with Travel & Leisure issues up 3.64% and Banks adding 4.55%.

Pacing gains at the individual company level on the Stoxx 600 were shares of Tullow Oil, Italian biotechnology diagnostic group DiaSorin SpA, TUI AG, Shell, Commerzbank, Bank of Ireland and StanChart.

Overnight, the number of new confirmed virus cases in China slipped from 46 on Monday to 45, amid a much publicised visit by President Xi Jinping the epicentre of the outbreak, in Wuhan.

In Italy meanwhile, authorities moved to a country-wide lockdown and in Spain a lockdown was announced in Madrid and the northern province of La Rioja.