* Another Brexit votes loom
* Goldman Sachs more optimistic
* Leonardo top gainer after results
* Lufthansa, autos falls (Adds closing prices, details)By Julien Ponthus and Helen ReidLONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - European shares rose to afive-month high on Thursday, boosted by strength in the bankingsector after Britain's parliament voted to reject a disorderlyBrexit.
Sentiment improved from cautious to upbeat after the open,ahead of another vote on Thursday evening that could delayBritain's planned departure from the European Union.The pan-European STOXX 600 ended up 0.7 percent,while British blue chips rose 0.5 percent.
"We now see a 60 percent chance (up from 55 percent) that aclose variant of the prime minister's current Brexit deal iseventually ratified," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote. Theprobability of a no-deal Brexit was now 5 percent, they said.
Leonardo scored its best day in more than 7years, up 13 percent, recouping some of its steep losses sinceJanuary 2018, after the Italian defence group said net profitsurged and it saw sales rising in 2019. Germany's GEA rose 11 percent after its CEO saidit will announce changes to its structure in June, whileFrance's Lagardere gained 8 percent after giving moredetails about its divestment plans. Among the fallers, Lufthansa posted the worstperformance after reporting an 11 percent decline infourth-quarter operating profits.Its shares fell 6.3 percent. RWE slipped in early trade after it forecast coreearnings might fall by one-fifth this year, but managed toprogressively recover to end up 1.8 percent. Analysts at UBSaffirmed their buy rating on the stock, saying the disappointingguidance is mostly due to one-off and temporary effects.
Italy's top insurer, Assicurazioni Generali , rose1.2 percent as it raised its dividend for 2018 after beating itsbusiness plan targets. Banks rose 0.9 percent.
"The European bank index is responding positively to theturn in the European surprise index," said Russell Quelch,financials specialist sales at Redburn.
"The ECB's assertion last week of the deterioration in thegrowth outlook for Europe therefore looks increasingly at riskof being behind the curve," he added.
Trade-sensitive autos ended flat after a Bloombergreport said China and the United States are likely to push backa meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to enda prolonged spat over trade to April at the earliest.Trump later said he was in no rush to complete a trade pactwith China. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Macro surprises MARCH 14 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Julien Ponthus, Helen Reid and Danilo Masoni;Editing by Catherine Evans)
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