STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-easyJet rises as traffic defies Easter timing

Shares in easyJet climb 2.3 percent after the low-cost airline's monthly passenger data was better than expected, when taking into account the timing of the Easter holiday period.

Trading volumes in easyJet come in at around 80 percent of the stock's 3-month daily average - above those for the benchmark FTSE 100 index where volumes only come in at 20 percent of the index's 3-month daily average.

easyJet said its load factor in March - the proportion of seats it fills - rose by 1 percentage point compared to last year, despite the fact that Easter falls in April, not March, this year.

"Given what other airlines have been saying about the timing of Easter, I would not have been surprised to see a little bit of weakness in the load factor in March this year, and yet we're seeing a bit of strength," Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo says.

The company in March carried 4.8 percent more passengers compared to the same period last year, which was better than a 4 percent decline reported by rival budget airline Ryanair on Thursday.

However, Khoo cautioned it was difficult to read that much into monthly traffic statistics because they do not give any insight into an airline's yields.

To see easyJet's statement please click on

Reuters messaging rm://sarah.young.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net