UPDATE 2-European shares stalk record high as factory activity perks up

(There will be no European stock market report on Friday and
Monday on account of Easter holidays. Reuters will resume
coverage on Tuesday, April 6)
* STOXX 600 still lags S&P 500 to hit record high
* Chipmakers rally after Micron results
* Credit Suisse set for worst week in a year

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Sruthi Shankar
April 1 (Reuters) - European stocks ended a hair's breadth
away from a record high on Thursday as strong factory activity
data out of the euro zone and optimism around a new U.S.
government spending plan eclipsed concerns about another
lockdown in France.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was up 0.7% at
432.22 points, about a point away from its all-time high. Its
U.S. counterparts have already recaptured all their
coronavirus-driven losses from last year.
The German DAX .GDAXI climbed 0.7% to hit an all-time
high, while the UK's FTSE 100 .FTSE gained 0.4% as data showed
euro zone factory activity growth galloped at its fastest pace
in the near 24-year history of a leading business survey in
March. "A synchronised global recovery is expected to come through
pretty strongly as we go through unlocking Europe in the next
few months," said Jonathan Stubbs, equity strategist at
Berenberg.
"The earnings recovery story looks pretty well underpinned.
My forecasts suggest 25%-30% earnings growth across Europe this
year and next year combined. It's a pretty punchy recovery."
The STOXX 600 index had ended the first quarter on Wednesday
with a 7.7% rise - its fourth straight quarter of gains. But it
took the benchmark index seven months more than the U.S. S&P 500
.SPX to reclaim its pre-pandemic high, slowed down by a
sluggish vaccination roll-out and a new wave of infections.
President Emmanuel Macron ordered France into its third
national lockdown, but the French blue-chip index .FCHI 0.6%
rose after a sluggish start. Buoying global sentiment further, U.S. President Joe Biden
unveiled a sweeping $2.3 trillion spending plan on Wednesday
that includes investments in roads, railways, broadband, clean
energy and semiconductor manufacture.
Chip stocks including ASML ASML.AS , ASMI ASMI.AS ,
Infineon Technologies IFXGn.DE and BE Semiconductor BESI.AS
all rose between 1.2% and 3.6% after U.S. chipmaker Micron
Technology MU.O issued an upbeat revenue forecast.
Also boosting the sector, contract chipmaker TSMC 2330.TW
said it plans to invest $100 billion over the next three years
to increase capacity at its plants. British food delivery firm Deliveroo's shares ROO.L fell
1.9% after plunging by as much as 30% in their trading debut on
Wednesday.
German peer Delivery Hero DHER.DE jumped 3.9% after Dutch
tech investment company Prosus NV PRX.AS raised its stake in
the company.
Catering companies Sodexo EXHO.PA and Elior ELIOR.PA
slipped even as Sodexo forecast an expansion of second-half
revenue after reporting a large beat on its first-half profit
margin. Swiss lender Credit Suisse CSGN.S rose 2.6%, but was on
track for its worst week since March 2020, hit by worries about
the fall-out from Archegos Capital's dramatic meltdown.