UPDATE 2-Earnings lifts European shares, German DAX outperforms

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* UBS gains after profit surge
* IMF lifts global growth forecast for 2021
* Unicredit up on talks of CEO change

(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Jan 26 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Tuesday as strong
earnings from wealth manager UBS and auto parts maker Autoliv
added to a string of upbeat corporate updates, while the
International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for global
growth in 2021.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.6%,
with a rally in automakers, industrial companies and SAP
SAPG.DE and helping the German DAX .GDAXI outperform.
UBS UBSG.S rose 2.4% as high levels of client activity
helped the world's largest wealth manager record a 137% rise in
net profit. The broader financial services index .SXFP gained 1.8%,
with Swedish buyout group EQT EQTAB.ST jumping 14.6% after it
signed a deal to buy global real estate investment manager
Exeter Property Group for $1.87 billion. The STOXX 600 tumbled to a two-week low on Monday after data
painted a gloomy picture of Europe's economy in January as many
countries tighten curbs to combat new variants of the
coronavirus.
"The numbers that are coming out show economic activity in
Europe is falling back and underperforming other parts of the
world," said David Miller, investment director at Quilter
Cheviot.
"So far, investors are prepared to look through the current
difficulties on the basis that second half will be better."
Supporting the sentiment, the International Monetary Fund
raised its forecast for global economic growth in 2021 and said
the coronavirus-triggered downturn in 2020 would be nearly a
full percentage point less severe than expected. Italy's FTSE MIB .FTMIB rose 1.2% after Prime Minister
Giuseppe Conte handed in his resignation to the head of state,
hoping he would be given an opportunity to put together a new
coalition and rebuild his parliamentary majority. Conte lost his absolute majority in the upper house Senate
last week when a junior partner, the Italia Viva party quit in a
row over the various issues.
Boosting Milan's bourse, UniCredit CRDI.MI jumped 4.5%
after reports it set to appoint Andrea Orcel, one of Europe's
best known investment bankers, as its new chief executive.
Sweden's Autoliv ALIVsdb.ST gained 5.3% after it reported
higher than expected quarterly earnings, boosted by a recovery
in car production. Industrial gas producer Linde LINI.DE rose 3.5% after
announcing an increase to its quarterly dividend and a
$5-billion share buyback programme. Spanish pharmaceutical company PharmaMar PHMR.MC surged
21.1% after peer review journal Science published a paper that
confirmed its drug plitidepsin has a "potent preclinical
efficacy" against the COVID-19.