UPDATE 3-Oil stocks, banks drive gains in Europe; EU stimulus decision awaited

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* Euro zone activity plunges on lockdown measures
* Energy stocks track gains in oil prices
* Unilever slumps on withdrawing forecast
* Credit Suisse bulks up for potential loan losses

(Updates prices to close)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew
April 23 (Reuters) - A rally in energy and bank shares
lifted European stock markets on Thursday, while investors
counted on more stimulus to revive the bloc's economy as the
coronavirus-induced lockdowns brought activity to a halt in
April.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was up 0.9%, recovering
for a second straight day as oil prices edged higher after
collapsing at the start of the week. O/R
The energy index .SXEP jumped 3%, with Total SA TOTF.PA ,
BP Plc BP.L and Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L providing the
biggest boost to the STOXX 600.
Kicking off the first-quarter earnings season for the big
European lenders, Credit Suisse Group AG's CSGN.S net profit
topped expectations, but the bank followed its American peers in
bulking up for potential loan losses due to the pandemic.
"Banks are better capitalized now than they were in 2007,
but this level of bad loans, non-performing loans or loan loss
provisions, which affect the bottom line immediately, they're
worrying," said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard,
in London.
Credit Suisse's shares rose 2.3% and most other regional
banks rallied, taking the bank's index .SX7P 3% higher.
All other major European sectors traded higher, even as data
showed economic activity in the euro zone ground to a halt in
April, with several sectors idling plants and furloughing staff.
Across the Atlantic, data showed U.S. jobless claims topped
26 million in the past five weeks, but slowed last week compared
with the previous week. Wall Street's main indexes traded over
1% higher. .N "What the market is failing to appreciate is the size of the
macroeconomic shock," said TS Lombard's Cicione.
Focus is instead on the various exit strategies and the
stimulus initiatives by governments and central banks, said
Olivier Konzeoue, FX sales trader at Saxo Markets.
A decision from a meeting of European Union leaders
regarding jointly financing a recovery is expected later on
Thursday. Washington, meanwhile, is preparing to approve another
$500 billion to support small businesses and hospitals.
The STOXX 600 has bounced this month after hitting
eight-year lows in March, as trillions of dollars in global
stimulus brought back bargain hunters.
Consumer goods giant Unilever UNA.AS tumbled as much as
5.5% to its lowest in three weeks after pulling its 2020 profit
forecast, saying it could not "reliably assess the impact" of
the pandemic on its business. Sweden's AB Volvo VOLVb.ST shed 5.6% and was on course for
its worst day in a week after warning of stalling truck orders
and a challenging adjustment to a "new normal" of feebler
demand. Topping the pan-regional index were British homebuilders
Taylor Wimpey TW.L and Vistry VTYV.L after they announced
plans to restart construction work in the next two weeks.
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European PMIs vs STOXX 600 https://tmsnrt.rs/2VRow9x
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