Retailer Carrefour's shares surge after third-quarter sales rise

PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in French supermarket retailer Carrefour <CARR.PA> surged on Thursday after Carrefour reported that sales growth accelerated in the third quarter, reflecting improving sales in its core French and Brazilian markets.

Carrefour shares were up 6.6 percent in early trading and among the top performers on European markets <.STOXX>.

HSBC raised its rating on Carrefour to "buy" from "hold", while Barclays raised its price target on the stock.

"Carrefour's numbers look good, with Europe and especially France stabilising," Montaigne Capital fund manager Pierre Willot said.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jason Neely)