UPDATE 2-Spanish stimulus helps European stocks end seesaw session higher

* STOXX 600 closes higher after tumultuous session
* Spanish stocks mark best day since 2010
* British entertainment stocks wallow in social life curbs

(Updates to close)
By Ambar Warrick and Sagarika Jaisinghani
March 17 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Tuesday, coming
off a near seven-year low helped by stocks in Spain, which
announced a bumper stimulus plan to combat the economic shock of
the coronavirus.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 2.3%
after seesawing earlier in the day, following a dramatic
sell-off on Monday.
It was buoyed by Spain's Ibex 35 .IBEX which rose about
6.4%, marking its best day since 2010 as investors lapped up a
200-billion-euro ($219.6 billion) package of measures unveiled
by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The plan soothed markets that have been blindsided by
widespread shutdowns and disruptions in the wake of the virus
outbreak, with poorly received central bank measures and
tumbling oil prices adding to the pain.
"It was, in a way, what investors had been waiting for. Last
week was about central bank action, which is perhaps a
prerequisite, but not a solution," said Elwin de Groot, head of
Macro Strategy at Rabobank in Amsterdam.
"What this does underscore is that markets want to see firm
action, and this is an example of that. I think it's positive
that we're seeing the first steps in really massive measures."
Telecoms .SXKP and utilities .SX6P were the
best-performing European sub-sectors for the day, climbing more
than 10% and 5%, respectively, as uncertainty over the pandemic
kept defensive stocks in play.
Belgium's Proximus NV PROX.BR topped the telecoms sector,
rising about 21% after it extended a cloud-storage partnership.

The stock also topped the STOXX 600.
However, travel and leisure stocks .SXTP , the worst
affected by the outbreak, dropped about 5%. The sector has
declined for 18 of the 19 previous sessions, and is set to lose
more than half of its value in the first quarter of 2020.
Airbus AIR.PA tumbled 8.6% after saying it would stop
production and assembly activities at its plants in France and
Spain for the next four days in order to comply with government
containment measures. British theatre operator Cineworld Group CINE.L plummeted
43% to the bottom of the STOXX 600, while restaurant operator
SSP Group SSPG.L dropped 33% after Britain advised people
against pursuing social activities to curb the spread of the
virus. French stocks .FCHI ended 2.8% higher after President
Emmanuel Macron sought to reassure businesses by offering more
fiscal aid. Frankfurt shares .GDAXI shrugged off a
weaker-than-expected business sentiment reading and closed about
2.3% higher.
($1 = 0.9107 euros)