UPDATE 2-European shares at 1 month high on hopes coronavirus crisis may be easing

* STOXX 600 now up more than 22% from March lows
* Virus cases slow in Italy, Spain and U.S. states
* German shares surge to near one-month high
* Cineworld rockets 46% on liquidity plans

(Updates to close)
By Susan Mathew and Sagarika Jaisinghani
April 7 (Reuters) - European shares rallied for a second
straight day on Tuesday with investors focusing on early signs
that the coronavirus pandemic may be easing.
After having risen as much as 3.3% during the day, the
pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 1.9%, at its
highest level in nearly a month.
German shares led the charge, up 2.8%, while indexes in
Spain .IBEX and Italy .FTMIB both rose more than 2% on a
slowdown in reported new infections in Italy, Spain and hard-hit
parts of the United States. MKST/GLOB
"The latest news on the virus is in line with our central
scenario in which the pandemic reaches a peak in Europe in early
April and in the U.S. by mid-April. That would permit
suppression efforts to be relaxed starting in mid-May," said
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer global wealth management,
at UBS AG.
Travel and leisure stocks .SXTP outperformed, driven by a
whopping 49% surge in shares of Cineworld CINE.L after it said
it was in talks with lenders for its liquidity needs as the
strict stay-at-home orders forced it to shut all its 787 cinemas
across 10 countries. The stock also topped the pan-region STOXX 600 benchmark.
The STOXX 600 index has gained more than 22% since hitting
an eight-year low in March - technically marking a bull market -
but remains 24% below its February record high, when the global
spread of the coronavirus led to a virtual halt in business
activity.
"While governments and central banks have already done a lot
to tackle the economic fallout of Covid-19, what is still
missing is a pan-European fiscal reaction," said Carsten
Brzeski, chief economist, eurozone at ING.
Economists polled by Reuters said a global recession was
underway, although most clung to hopes of a swift rebound.
France's Thales TCFP.PA on Tuesday became the latest big
company to cut dividend and suspend profit forecasts, but it
added a new 2 billion euro ($2.17 billion) credit facility to
shore up liquidity. Its shares fell 0.6%. German shares .GDAXI marked their highest since March 11,
as data showed industry output in Europe's manufacturing
powerhouse rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in February,
before the pandemic prompted sweeping lockdowns.
However, analysts said output will likely tumble in the next
three months with the Ifo institute's index for production
expectations logging its biggest drop since the survey was first
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Global stock indexes' three-month performance IMAGE https://reut.rs/2UMrRaG
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