European shares kick off March on steady footing

(Reuters) - Miners and luxury firms lifted European shares on Wednesday after strong data from China brought relief to investors fearful of an economic slowdown, while declines in shares of euro-zone's biggest bank BNP Paribas kept gains in check.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 rose 0.2% by 0812 GMT, kicking off the month on steady ground following a solid start to the year.

China's factory sector grew in February at the fastest pace in more than a decade, an outlier in Asia, where manufacturing growth stalled elsewhere.

Luxury giants such as LVMH, Kering, Pernod Ricard and Hermes International, that have a big exposure to China, rose between 1.7% and 2.1%.

The European basic resources index jumped 3.0%.

BNP Paribas fell 2.9% after the Belgian state participation agency SFPI said the country is preparing the sale of a third of its 7.8% equity stake in the bank.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)