MILAN (Reuters) - Companies listed on the pan-European STOXX 600 index <.STOXX> are expected to report a 0.6% rise in second-quarter earnings, a reversal from 0.5% fall estimated a week ago, according to data from I/B/E/S Refinitiv late on Tuesday.
This improvement comes after a string of downgrades and if growth is confirmed Europe would avoid the first back-to-back quarterly earnings decline since the second and third quarters of 2016. Earnings in the first quarter of this year fell 2.0%.
The new estimate is still down from more than 3.6% growth expected two months ago and marks a sharp decline versus the same quarter of last year when earnings rose 9.7%.
Europe's STOXX 600 second-quarter revenue is seen rising 2.7%, an increase from 0.9% seen a week ago and compared to the 3.2% growth posted last year.
(This story correct first paragraph to show Q2 earnings are expected to rise, not drop)
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni)
