European stocks rise after three days of decline, but weakness in banks persists

March 14 (Reuters) – Interest-rate-sensitive property and technology stocks lifted Europe’s benchmark stock index on Tuesday after three days of selling following the fall of Silicon Valley Bank, which sent chills through the banking sector global.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1% at 0813 GMT, after plunging 2.4% a day earlier in its worst selling streak of the year.

Real estate and tech stocks rose 1.1% and 0.4% respectively, helped by investor purchases in sectors that typically benefit from lower interest rates.

European bond yields continued to fall as investors bet on less tightening from the European Central Bank (ECB). At the ECB’s monetary policy meeting on Thursday, traders considered a 25 basis point hike the most likely, while last week they saw a 50 basis point hike as almost certain.

The European banks index fell 0.6% after posting its biggest percentage loss in more than a year on Monday.

Shares of Credit Suisse fell 1.3% after the troubled Swiss bank said in its 2022 annual report that “client outflows have stabilized at much lower levels, but have not yet reversed”. The stock hit a record low on Monday, dragged down by the selloff in the banking sector.

HSBC fell 1.8% for its fourth consecutive day of losses. The British bank acquired the British branch of Silicon Valley Bank on Monday, saving a key bank for technology “startups” (emerging companies) in the United Kingdom.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu; Editing in Spanish by Dario Fernandez)