STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-ASOS rises as Peel Hunt ups to "buy"

Shares in ASOS rise 6.8 percent as Peel Hunt upgrades its rating on the online fashion retailer to "buy" from "hold" on valuation grounds, saying "we see the recent weakness as a rare buying opportunity for a leading global online growth retailer".

In a note, Peel Hunt says ASOS shares have halved since the June peak and are down around 17 percent over the year to date, compared to a 6.3 percent drop by the FTSE All-share index.

"The UK market is far from mature, while international growth potential looks as strong as ever, before we take account of future own-language sites for key markets such as China," Peel Hunt says.

The broker says ASOS offers three-year compound earnings per share growth of around 49 percent to 2015, with 2013 representing the turning point for cash generation.

Reuters messaging rm://david.brett.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net