* STOXX 600 loses about 2.1% over past 4 sessions
* Tech stocks end at highest level since 2001
* Chemicals sector marks record-high close
* More ECB stimulus likely - analyst
(Updates to market close)
By Ambar Warrick
Sept 2 (Reuters) - European shares closed higher on
Wednesday as signs of a recovery in global manufacturing
activity helped chemical and industrial stocks, while the tech
sector marked its strongest close in more than 19 years,
tracking gains on Wall Street.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 1.7% after
closing lower for the past four sessions.
The chemicals sector .SX4P ended at a record high as
positive manufacturing data from the euro zone, United States
and China this week pointed to a recovery in global factory
activity.
Local technology stocks .SX8P mirrored gains in their U.S.
peers, ending at their strongest level since 2001. The sector
has been more resilient than most through the pandemic, having
turned positive for the year by early July.
Still, weak inflation data and the lack of clear progress
against the pandemic augured an uneven economic recovery, fears
of which have kept the STOXX 600 in a tight trading range since
June.
"Weak inflation data may have increased the chances for the
ECB to expand its efforts to stimulate the Euro-area economy,"
Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group, wrote
in a note, referring to the negative inflation reading from the
euro zone on Tuesday.
"With central banks and governments around the globe staying
willing to do whatever it takes to support their economies from
the effects of the pandemic ... we would still consider the
latest retreat in most equity indices as a corrective phase."
Data on Wednesday showed that German retail sales fell
unexpectedly in July, dashing hopes that household spending in
Europe's largest economy will be powerful enough to drive a
strong recovery in the third quarter. But German stocks .GDAXI
rose more than 2%. In corporate news, Barratt Developments Plc BDEV.L ,
Britain's biggest housebuilder, surged 8.7% after it flagged an
improvement in forward sales, despite reporting a near 30% fall
in annual housing completions and revenue. The stock was the best performer in the personal and
household goods sector .SXQP , which led gains among its
European peers for the day.
Italian infrastructure group Atlantia ATL.MI topped the
STOXX 600 on hopes that it would clinch a deal over its
motorway unit Autostrade per l'Italia. Belgian real estate firm Aedifica AOO.BR rose 4% after it
clocked strong rental income growth over the 12 months to June
30. European banks, however, .SX7P lagged their peers,
retreating 0.7% as uncertainty over the pandemic seemed likely
to create a shaky credit environment.
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