* Milan stocks rise on hopes of Draghi becoming next PM
* Daimler jumps on plan to spin-off truck business
* GSK slides; warns of bigger than expected fall in 2021
earnings
(Updates to close)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Susan Mathew
Feb 3 (Reuters) - Italian shares posted their best session
in four weeks on Wednesday after former European Central Bank
chief Mario Draghi accepted the task of forming a new
government, while a surge in German carmaker Daimler lifted an
index of broader European shares.
Milan's FTSE MIB index closed up 2.1%, while
Italy's 10-year bond yield tumbled.
Draghi said he was confident of securing sufficient backing
in parliament after President Sergio Mattarella sought his help
after hearing that efforts to salvage the collapsed coalition of
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had failed.
"It may not all be plain sailing and some uncertainties and
negotiations remain. But... markets like the news of well-known
central bankers at the helm of government," said Maria Paola
Toschi, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset
Management.
"For the economy, avoiding lengthy further attempts to form
a government should mean that critical near-term issues can be
addressed."
Italy has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic
crises against the backdrop of political uncertainty battering
the country.
On the pan-European STOXX 600 index Daimler
was the top boost after unveiling plans to spin-off
its trucks business. It rose 8.9% while the broader index gained
0.3%.
Germany's DAX rose 0.7% to hit its highest in two
weeks.
London's blue-chip index slipped 0.1% as
GlaxoSmithKline slid 6.3% after it warned of a bigger
than expected fall in 2021 earnings as the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to disrupt other healthcare treatments.
But upbeat earnings from other companies helped push gains
on the pan-region index to a third straight day, with Novo
Nordisk, Siemens AG, Publicis Groupe SA
all rising after reporting results.
Drugmaker Argenx was the top gainer after it
raised $1 billion in capital increase.
Also keeping sentiment buoyed was hopes of U.S. stimulus
after the Senate took steps to allow Democrats to pass President
Joe Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid bill without
Republican support.
European stocks have been steadily rising along with other
major markets after losing more than 3% last week on concerns
around the slow roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in the euro zone.
A pause in a social media driven rally that drove up prices
of silver as well as certain stocks including GameStop Corp
has helped calm worries about potential losses incurred
by certain hedge funds causing disruption to markets as a whole.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta, Kirsten Donovan)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)