term revival," said David Brown, chief European economist at Bear Stearns. "These numbers are simply going to escalate calls on the ECB (European Central Bank) to cut rates again." U.S. data did little to mend sentiment. New orders for long-lasting U.S.-made goods jumped by a larger-than-expected 1.9 percent in April on a big rebound in transportation orders. But excluding the volatile transportation category, orders for durable goods dipped unexpectedly by 0.2 percent. Oil prices above $50 a barrel, after the latest U.S. data showed an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories, also rekindled worries that higher energy costs may hurt consumer spending and corporate profits. But crude gains lifted heavily weighted oil stocks, which helped limit market losses. Drugmakers benefited from these renewed economic worries, and the Europe's DJ Stoxx health sector index hit its highest level in nearly three years. --More 2153 Local Time 1853 GMT
