STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-HomeServe up on outlook, strong H1

Shares of HomeServe Plc <HSV.L> rise 7.2 percent after the home-insurance group posts higher first-half profits from core operations, aided by growth in customer and policy numbers, and says it is confident of meeting full-year market estimates for pretax profit.

"The interim figures demonstrate good growth in the UK business and very strong momentum in the overseas business, leading to sales growth of 25 percent for the group," says analyst Mike Murphy of Numis Securities.

Numis upgrades the stock to "buy" from "add".

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