European Stocks: Up By Carmakers

Bloomberg - European stocks rose, led by carmakers, after Renault SA raised its full-year earnings forecast and reported profit that beat estimates.
PSA Peugeot Citroen and DaimlerChrysler AG helped lift auto stocks to the best performance among the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index's 18 industry groups. HBOS Plc, the U.K.'s biggest mortgage lender, and Nordic phone company TeliaSonera AB also rose.
The Stoxx 600 advanced for a second day, adding 0.7 percent to 234.39 as of 12:43 p.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 gained 0.9 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 countries sharing the euro, increased 0.6 percent.
Renault joins Peugeot, which reported yesterday, in posting higher-than-expected first-half profit. The results helped ease concern about slowing demand and earnings growth that on Monday sent the Stoxx 50 to a 2004 low. A report today showed French manufacturers' confidence at the highest in more than three years.
``Every good result is very positive for all the market,'' said Ronald Petitjean, part of a team managing $240 million at Sarasin Expertise Asset Management in Paris. ``Stocks reacted too much on the downtrend, and with these earnings and an appropriate economic background, we have a good window to the market.''