LONDON, July 2 - European blue chips leapt out of the traps on Wednesday tracking Wall Street's late rally, with Swiss financial giant CS starring after a favourable court decision in the United States. Autos such as DaimlerChrysler motored after U.S. June car sales figures came in near the high end of forecasts. By 0707 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> was up 1.4 percent at 844 points, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> gained 1.6 percent to 2,405 points.
Financial stocks rallied after Wall Street's performance and positive comment from the strategy teams at Goldman Sachs and CSFB. In New York the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 0.62 percent and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> ended 1.07 percent higher, above levels seen when European markets closed. The second quarter was the Eurotop's best three-month period since the end of 1999 after it rallied from a six-year low in mid-March on expectations of economic rebound in the second half of 2003 to lift corporate profits. Upcoming interim results are the next hurdle for European companies to negotiate if this rally is to gain traction.
"The absence of clear evidence to confirm or deny economic recovery will leave investors hunting for something to focus on. The upcoming mid-year results season may provide one outlet," said Bill McQuaker, a strategist at investment bank CSFB. "(Banks') performance through the downturn in the economy shows how relatively resilient the sector is these days." CARS ACCELERATE Carmakers motored after U.S. auto sales in June came in near the high end of expectations, and up from May, thanks to what analysts describe as an unprecedented blitz of consumer incentives. BMW was up 2.5 percent and DaimlerChrysler added 1.2 percent. Credit Suisse tacked on three percent after two federal judges threw out lawsuits brought by investors who claimed that research from analysts at four of Wall Street's biggest firms caused them to lose money in the stock market.
. Attention will shortly turn to oil major BP , Europe's biggest company by market weight, which is due to issue a trading statement at 0900 GMT.//