LVMH shares soar as glimmers from China brighten luxury gloom

LONDON (Reuters) -LMVH shares traded nearly 8% higher on the Tradegate platform on Wednesday, a day after the luxury group reported better-than-expected sales in the third quarter, driven by improved demand in China. The world's largest luxury group's shares were trading at 575.2 euros on Tradegate, compared to an official close on Tuesday of 532.8. If the move on the retail-focused platform holds when full trading opens, that would be equivalent to little over 21 billion euros ($24.4 billion) of gains, bringing its total market value to more than 287 billion euros. The rise reported by LVMH on Tuesday represents the first quarter of growth this year for the company, which is seen as a sector bellwether with operations spanning fashion, alcohol and retail. Analysts see the results beat as a good sign for continued recovery, with Bernstein highlighting that sales exceeded expectations across all divisions. JPMorgan analysts anticipate shares in LVMH's competitors will also react positively and believe the overall environment is positive enough to expect a generally better luxury reporting season. Shares in Swiss luxury group Richemont were seen up 4.8% in pre-market indications. ($1 = 0.8602 euros) (Reporting by Alun John and Mateusz Rabiea; Editing by Amanda Cooper)

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