European shares bounce as airlines pitch recovery

(Reuters) – European shares rose in early trading on Thursday as daily coronavirus death tolls in both Spain and Italy eased, while a defiant statement on the crisis from two of the continent’s big budget airlines helped battered travel stocks recover.

The latest numbers from two of Europe’s hot spots in the outbreak added to signs the pandemic was plateauing in some countries, and the pan-European STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> rose 1.2% by 0703 GMT.

British budget carrier easyJet soared 9% after saying it expected to be able to survive a lengthy fleet grounding due to the steps it had taken to shore up its finances, pulling the wider travel and leisure index <.sxtp> up 2.3%.

Bigger rival Ryanair told Reuters on Wednesday it was steeling itself for an airline price war that it expected to win once coronavirus restrictions are lifted and passengers flock back to tourist destinations.

German online fashion retailer Zalando also jumped 8% as it said it was optimistic about the second quarter after sales picked up in April.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)