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Strong earnings boost European shares, but France lags

Tue, 07th Feb 2017 17:50

* Pan-European STOXX 600 index ends up 0.3 pct

* France's CAC falls 0.5 pct, led by BNP Paribas

* AMS, GEA surge after well-received results

* Q4 earning season delivered solid results so far - DB

* Oil stocks fall after BP misses estimates (Adds details, closing prices)

By Danilo Masoni and Atul Prakash

MILAN/LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - European shares rose onTuesday, helped by some encouraging company results, but Frenchstocks slipped after earnings at BNP Paribasdisappointed and election jitters weighed on the country'ssovereign bonds.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 percent,partly recovering from losses in the previous session, while theFrench blue chip CAC index fell 0.5 percent, bringinglosses so far this year to more than 2 percent.

French banks, among the best performers among Europeanfinancials in 2016, fell after BNP reported results belowforecasts, while the country's bond yields spiked on concernsthat the far right could win France's presidential vote and takeit out of the European Union.

"The political uncertainty is a burden for financials inFrance. Some election noise advocating for an exit from theEuropean Union is making investors jittery," Unicredit analystChristian Stocker said. "Financials did very well in the last2-3 months and probably we are seeing some profit-taking now."

BNP Paribas' fourth-quarter net income rose to 1.44 billioneuros, more than doubling from a year ago, although the resultcame in below the average estimate of 1.50 billion euros in apoll of analysts. Its shares fell 4.8 percent, making them thebiggest losers on the CAC.

EVLI Bank Chief Investment Officer Kim Pessala saidrelatively cheap valuations and good earnings growth made himquite upbeat about prospects for European equities but political uncertainty and risks of protectionist policies fromU.S. President Donald Trump suggested caution.

"We're leaning towards possibly increasing our exposure toEuropean equities as many things look good, but there are twobig uncertainties: Trump and the French elections," saidPessala.

According to Deutsche Bank, the fourth-quarter season hasdelivered solid results so far in Europe, with financials andindustrials providing the biggest contribution to an overallearnings per share growth of 8.3 percent from a year earlier.

In Tuesday there were well received updates from chipmakerAMS, which rose 22.4 percent, scoring its biggestone-day gain ever, and food-processing machinery maker GEA, which added 3.6 percent after setting a brighterprofit outlook.

However updates from energy companies disappointed, withstocks in the sector also penalised by a further decline incrude oil prices.

Oil major BP fell 4.1 percent after the companymissed estimates. Peer Statoil also fell 3.1 percentafter a disappointing set of results.

Finnish oil refiner Neste fell 5.5 percent afterfourth-quarter operating profit came in slightly below consensusforecasts, with some investors also citing disappointment overthe lack of clarity in its renewables outlook.

But Kim Gorschelnik, head of research at Finnish assetmanager FIM, said the results delivered no new negativesurprises, confirming his upbeat view on the stock.

"We consider Neste as a solid quality company for a longterm investor and one could consider today's share pricereaction as an entry point," he said.($1 = 0.9377 euros) (Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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