European shares rise on strong China recovery, US bank results on tap

April 18 (Reuters) – European shares rose on Tuesday, as investors awaited more US bank earnings to gauge the health of the sector, while China’s stronger-than-expected economic recovery boosted sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged up 0.2%, after the week started with a pullback from one-year highs, ending a five-day winning run.

Bank stocks  rose 0.8%, recovering from losses across the sector on Monday.

China’s economy grew 4.5% year-on-year for the first quarter, eclipsing the expectations of most economists.

Markets will now watch out for reports from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp later in the day, while Morgan Stanley is due on Wednesday, after stellar results from the other big US banks last week.

UBS Group AG added 1.1% as the Swiss bank was making changes to its USD 6 billion share buyback program following its takeover of Credit Suisse Group.

EasyJet Plc rose 3.0% as the airline said it expects full-year profit to beat market forecasts, encouraged by summer bookings and strong demand over Easter despite French strikes.

Investors will also monitor Germany’s ZEW survey, due at 0900 GMT, expected to show that economic conditions in region’s largest economy improved in April from the previous month.

(Reporting by Shubham Batra in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)