Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU), AMEC (LSE:AMEC) Lead Europe Higher

European stocks climbed Thursday, led by Alcatel-Lucent SA (NYSE:ALU) and AMEC PLC (LSE:AMEC), as bullish corporate news and falling crude-oil prices boosted sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.3% to end at 283.6. It earlier hit an intraday high of 285.8.

The Stoxx index pared its gains, and some markets — such as Spain and Italy — finished lower, after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said that a rate hike in April is “possible” but not certain and will depend on incoming data. Read more about Trichet’s comments.

In Spain, the IBEX 35 index dropped 0.7%, as shares of Banco Santander SA (ES:SAN) slipped 1.7%. Italy’s FTSE MIB index closed down 0.4%.

The euro rose 0.6% to $1.3939 after Trichet’s comments. The ECB earlier in the day kept its key interest rate on hold at a record low, as expected.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX) surged 1.5% to 6,005.1, outperforming other regional markets.

“The main reason [for the gains] is that crude prices have come off” their recent highs, said Joshua Raymond, strategist at City Index.

Alcatel-Lucent was trading in New York at $5.36, up $0.11, or 2.19 percent, as of 1:54 PM EST. AMEC was trading in London at 1,190.00, up 61.00, or 5.40 percent.



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