European stocks advance as banks bounce back

European stocks gained ground in early trade on Thursday as banks surged after results from Wells Fargo sparked a relief rally on Wall Street.
At 0713 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.7% at 1,134.66 points.
Recently beaten-down European banking stocks were the biggest gainers, with UBS soaring 7.7 percent, Societe Generale gaining 4.3% and Fortis surging 9.3%.
"Even if we get a positive surprise here and there, that doesn't mean the financial crisis is over. We might get a technical rebound on the short term, but from a macro perspective, it's a different story," said Yann Lepape, chief global macro strategist at Oddo Securities in Paris.
U.S. banking stocks had their best session in 16 years on Wednesday after unexpectedly strong results from Wells Fargo, the fifth-largest U.S. bank and a big mortgage lender, eased fears over the impact of the credit crisis on banks' balance sheets.
Investors will keep a close eye on quarterly results later in the day from JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch for more insight on the credit crisis, as well as on a flurry of results from heavyweights such as Nokia, IBM, Microsoft and Google.