UPDATE 2-Defensive sectors, Adidas lift European stocks; cyclicals fall

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* STOXX 600 at highest level since Feb 2020
* Cyclicals fall, while defensives gain
* Adidas up after forecasting 2021 rebound
* U.S. CPI data calms inflation nerves

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
March 10 (Reuters) - Europe's main index hovered near
pre-pandemic highs on Wednesday, as a rise in shares of Adidas
after an upbeat sales forecast and gains in telecoms and
healthcare stocks outweighed losses in the mining and travel
sectors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.4% after a
rally in technology stocks on Tuesday pushed the benchmark to
its highest level since February 2020.
Miners .SXPP , retailers .SXRP , and travel and leisure
.SXTP companies led the declines in Europe, while telecoms
.SXKP jumped 2.3% and healthcare .SXDP rose 1.0%.
Most European sectors have had some time in the spotlight
this week, starting with gains in cyclicals, then a tech rally,
and then a rise in defensives on Wednesday.
"People investing in European markets right now are from
overseas like the United States, consequently they have a view
that they'd like a little bit of everything from each sector. It
is this general view of Europe vs. America and Europe is
cheaper," said Chris Bailey, European strategist at Raymond
James.
German sportswear maker Adidas AG ADSGn.DE added 2.8% as
it aims to double its e-commerce sales by 2025 and make its
products more sustainable as part of a five-year plan to lift
profitability closer to that of rival Nike NKE.N . Germany's DAX index .GDAXI has had a strong start to
March, hitting an all-time high again during the session, with
analysts pointing to the economy's focus on international
exports giving it an edge over other regions such as France or
Spain, which have a more European focus.
"The most important thing about Germany apart from the
companies it has on its index is its exports, so the great
advantage of an economy like Germany is that it gives you an
opportunity to access international options through a European
channel," Bailey said.
However, trading has been volatile in recent weeks as
government bond yields rose on concerns that central banks could
begin tightening monetary policy as global economy recovers,
raising borrowing costs.
Calming some fears about inflation was a report on U.S.
consumer prices that showed the U.S. consumer price index rose
0.4% in February, in-line with expectations, after a 0.3%
increase in January. Boosting telecom sector, Deutsche Telekom DTEGn.DE rose
4.9% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold",
saying the company has a solid position across all its market
segments. Just Eat Takeaway.com TKWY.AS gained 5.9% after the
food-ordering company said it expected further growth in 2021.