Banks, autos drive rebound in European stocks – Reuters

Banks, autos drive rebound in European stocks – Reuters

March 9 (Reuters) - European shares rebounded on Wednesday as investors picked up beaten-down stocks following a rout that was sparked by fears about growing Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 3.1%, set to erase all of its losses since Monday when the threat of a Russian oil imports ban saw German and Italian shares close 20% below their record highs - a level investors call a "bear market".

Hard-hit banks (.SX7P), automakers (.SXAP) and travel and leisure (.SXTP) stocks rose more than 5% each, while oil & gas (.SXEP) and mining stocks (.SXPP) fell after a strong rally.