European stocks close

European stocks advanced, rebounding from their slide yesterday, as cost cuts at Barclays Plc outweighed worse-than-expected earnings at Michelin & Cie.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.5 percent to 287.07 at the close of trading in London, after yesterday sliding 0.6 percent.

National benchmark index rose in all 18 western-European markets.

FTSE 100 6,338.38 +61.32 +0.98% CAC 40 3,686.58 +36.00 +0.99% DAX 7,660.19 +26.45 +0.35%

Barclays rallied 8.6 percent to 327.4 pence after saying it will cut 1,800 jobs at its investment bank and 1,900 positions at its European consumer- and business-banking unit. The second- largest U.K. lender by assets said it will reduce annual costs by 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion). Barclays posted a loss of 1.04 billion pounds in 2012, its first full-year loss in 20 years.

Michelin dropped 4.3 percent to 69.55 euros after Europe’s largest tiremaker reported operating profit of 2.42 billion euros ($3.26 billion). The average analyst estimate had called for earnings of 2.52 billion euros. Michelin posted profit of 1.95 billion euros a year earlier.

Finmeccanica tumbled 7.3 percent to 4.41 euros after police arrested Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, the head of the Italian defense contractor’s U.S. helicopter unit.

L’Oreal SA jumped 3.8 percent to 112.05 euros after reporting that earnings increased 12 percent in 2012. The world’s largest cosmetics maker said it will buy back 500 million euros of shares in the first half of this year.

Telenet Group Holding NV soared 4.8 percent to 37.65 euros. The Belgian cable operator controlled by Liberty Global Inc. will return 950 million euros to investors after the other shareholders blocked a plan by John Malone’s company to win full control of the unit.

France Telecom SA slipped 0.7 percent to 7.83 euros, its lowest price since October 2002, after its Polish unit, Telekomunikacja Polska SA, cut its proposed dividend for the second time in four months. Poland’s largest phone company also reported that profit slumped 86 percent in the fourth quarter.