Easing fears of a trade war further lifted European shares on Friday, with trade-sensitive sectors, such as miners and autos, leading the advance.
The pan-European STOXX 600 on Friday rose 0.4 percent, up 1.7 percent for the week.
The Euro STOXX 50 on Friday ended up 0.8 percent, climbing 2.6 from last week.
Both have had 10 straight sessions of gains.
The last time the STOXX 600 performed so strongly was in September last year, but for the Euro STOXX 50 it was the longest winning streak since 1997.
Markets shrugged off the escalation of the trade war between the US and China, focusing on that tariffs announced this week were lower than expected and on hopes of a compromise.
Inexpensive valuations also fueled demand for European shares, which have been underperforming their US peers on worries the region’s export-oriented economy could be hit harder by a trade war.
Deutsche Bank AG on Friday confirmed its “overweight” rating on European value stocks, mentioning among their buy-rated picks financials Allianz SE and BNP Paribas SA, automaker Daimler AG and miner Glencore PLC.
Data showing eurozone business growth easing again this month — yet another sign that momentum in the currency bloc has passed its peak — had little effect on trading.
Miners rose 1.3 percent, leading sectoral gainers on Friday, after copper rallied as investors calculated that the US-China trade war could cause less damage than feared.
Autos rose 1.9 percent at one point before succumbing to some profit-taking to end up 0.3 percent.
Strategists at Kepler Capital Markets this week upgraded autos to “neutral,” adding to signs that broker sentiment toward the under-owned and underperforming sector was improving.
Just Eat PLC lost 4.8 percent after a report said Uber Technologies Inc was in early talks to buy Deliveroo, potentially giving it a major rival in the food delivery business.
“The combination of two competitors is the last thing Just Eat wants to hear, particularly when it is already trying to play catch-up on the delivery side of its business,” at AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.
Shares in British industrial technology firm Smiths Group PLC fell 4.4 percent after its full-year profit missed analysts’ estimates.
Belgium’s Nyrstar N.V. tumbled more than 30 percent after it issued a profit warning, saying revenues would be hurt by adverse market conditions.
German retailer Metro AG jumped 2.3 percent as Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky is buying more shares in the company, stoking speculation of a full bid.
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