UPDATE 2-European shares mark best day since 2008 on hopes of calmer markets

* Energy and mining stocks lead gains
* Traders shrug off data showing plunge in business activity
* Italian shares jump as data shows new virus cases slowing
* Jumping back into stocks will need "nerves of steel"-
Analyst

(Updates to close)
By Ambar Warrick and Sagarika Jaisinghani
March 24 (Reuters) - European shares surged on Tuesday,
recovering a week's worth of losses as the prospect of some
stability from recent stimulus measures saw buying into markets
wallowing around seven-year lows.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX jumped 8.4% in its
strongest session since late-2008. The index was still roughly
30% down from a record peak hit in February, after fears over
the economic shock from the coronavirus spurred panicked selling
across the board in recent weeks.
Nearly all of the index's constituents were trading
positive, with a jump in equities across the Atlantic also
bolstering sentiment. Low valuations were seen prompting some
degree of bargain hunting. .N
With several major governments and central banks announcing
measures to boost liquidity and offset the coronavirus
outbreak's impact, investors hoped for some stability in markets
amid skyrocketing volatility. Europe's so-called fear gauge .V2TX fell to 52.53, its
lowest in nearly two weeks, after having spiked to 12-year highs
earlier in the month.
"Considering how these markets have traded over the last
month, I'm certainly not confident that the worst of the rout is
behind us, but we have seen a little more stability over the
last week or so," Craig Erlam, senior market analyst, UK and
EMEA at OANDA, wrote in a note.
The European basic resources .SXPP and oil and gas .SXEP
sub-sectors were the best performers for the day, adding more
than 15% each. Both sectors recovered from multi-year lows.
Base metal and oil prices also surged on the day. MET/L
O/R
Traders hardly reacted to worse-than-expected figures
showing euro zone business activity crumbled in March as shops,
restaurants and offices pulled down their shutters. Italian stocks .FTMIB surged nearly 9%, marking their best
day in nearly a decade as latest numbers showing a slowdown in
new cases of COVID-19 raised hopes that the most aggressive
phase of the outbreak may be passing. " It's still early days (in the outbreak), of course -
perhaps investors can start to envisage life beyond the
coronavirus. That could make stocks look a little more
attractive, although anyone jumping back in now will need to
have nerves of steel," Oanda's Erlam said.
German stocks .GDAXI jumped nearly 11%, while British
bluechips .FTSE added 9%. Both bourses saw their best sessions
since 2008.
Among individual movers, British travel and leisure stocks
Cineworld CINE.L and Carnival CCL.L topped the STOXX 600,
bouncing back from severe drops in valuation.
Takeaway.com TKWY.AS , Europe's largest online food
ordering service, closed 9.3% higher after it said late Monday
that it would grant a delay in payments for Dutch restaurants on
its platform that have been hit by the coronavirus.