Europe boosted by banks’ biggest rally in three weeks

Bloomberg

European stocks rose toward their highest level in 15 months as banks followed gains in the region’s bond yields.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent at 1:24 p.m. in London. Yields on short-dated German bonds rose as investors unwound hedges against French election risks after polls showed centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron bested anti-euro rival Marine Le Pen in a presidential debate. That in turn boosted bank shares, with Italian lenders and Deutsche Bank AG leading gains.
Banco BPM SpA and UniCredit SpA were among the best performers in lenders as the yield spread between 10-year German and Italian bonds narrowed the most since January. Deutsche Bank snapped a three-day slump to rally 6.7 percent. Energy shares were the second-best performers, rebounding from yesterday’s drop as crude prices rose.
Mining shares headed for their worst drop in almost two weeks as copper and steel prices fell.
The upcoming French presidential election has not impeded the momentum in equity markets so far, Macquarie Group
analysts said in a note, citing gains in the Stoxx 600 and
European banks this year. The broader equity benchmark is up 4.9 percent this quarter.