By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets partly rebounded
after a sharp prior-day selloff on Tuesday after tensions between
Russia and Ukraine appeared to ease as Russian troops reportedly
were called back to their bases and President Vladimir Putin
stressed he wouldn't use military force yet.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rallied 1.8% to 336.36, partly
recovering from a 2.3% slide on Monday.
The sharp decline on Monday came after the crisis in Ukraine
intensified over the weekend, as Russian President Vladimir Putin
got parliamentary approval to launch a miliary intervention on the
country's southwestern neighbor.
The move was condemned by western powers and U.S. President
Barack Obama warned Russia could face costly sanctions unless it
ends its occupation of Ukraine's Crimean region. Additionally,
president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, has scheduled
an extraordinary meeting for EU leaders on Thursday to discuss the
situation in the country. On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry was visiting Kiev to show support for the new Ukrainian
government.
Tensions appeared to ease on Tuesday, however, after Russian
troops sent on surprise military exercises in western and central
Russia reportedly were ordered to return to their bases. The drills
began last Wednesday, and some of them were near the Ukraine
border, which triggered some concerns that Russia was building up
for a massive incursion.
Putin said in a televised press conference that he sees "no need
yet" to send troops to Ukraine, but that the use of military forces
remains an option in an "extreme case." The Russian President also
stressed that Ukrainian parliament's move to oust former leader
Viktor Yanukovych was "unconstitutional" and that the ousted
president is still the legitimate head of Ukraine.
The combination of calling back troops and Putin's comments took
some heat out of the crisis, spurring optimism in the stock market,
with both European indexes and U.S. stocks rising.
Russia's MICEX index jumped 5.3% to 1,356.54, after tanking 11%
on Monday.
Among other country-specific indexes in Europe, France's CAC 40
index gained 2.3% to 4,387.44, while Germany's DAX 30 index put on
2.2% to 9,567.38. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 1.6% to
6,813.07.
Shares of Ashtead Group PLC jumped 12% in London after the
equipment-rental company reported a 54% rise in third-quarter
pretax profit.
Shares of Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) put on 2.3% after the
miner said it swung to a full-year loss, but that its closely
watched adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose 34%.
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