European shares on Friday closed at their highest level in five months as investors cheered positive signs on US-China trade talks and British lawmakers’ vote to request a delay in a potentially chaotic exit from the EU.
The pan-European STOXX 600 on Friday closed up 2.58 points, or 0.7 percent, at 381.10, its highest close since Oct. 4 last year and its biggest gain in a month. That was also a jump of 2.8 percent from a close of 370.57 on March 8.
All major regional bourses were in positive territory on Friday, led by Paris’ CAC 40, which gained 55.55 points, or 1 percent, to 5,405.32, surging 3.3 percent from 5,231.22 a week earlier.
London’s FTSE 100 on Friday rose 42.85 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,228.28, an increase of 1.7 percent from a close of 7,104.31 on March 8, lifted by heavyweight oil and mining stocks that were boosted by higher metal and crude oil prices.
Germany’s trade-sensitive DAX was on Friday up 98.22 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,685.69, jumping 2 percent from 11,457.84 a week earlier.
Turnover picked up on Friday after being generally in line with long-term averages in recent sessions — STOXX 600 volume was almost double its 90-day average as investors rushed to position themselves ahead of another critical Brexit week.
The mood was boosted by growing expectations that Britain will not leave the EU on March 29 without a deal to minimize economic disruption following parliamentary votes on Thursday night.
London’s domestically focused mid-cap index rose 1.1 percent as sterling rallied in late trading.
Thursday night’s votes saw British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government narrowly avert an attempt by lawmakers to seize the agenda next week if no Brexit deal has been passed, with the aim of forcing a discussion of alternative options before an EU summit on Thursday next week.
She plans to put her deal to the vote for a third time before then.
Investor confidence was also bolstered by news from China’s state-run Xinhua news agency that Washington and Beijing were making further substantive progress on trade talks, as well as upbeat comments from US President Donald Trump.
Gains might be a little overdone given the uncertainty about the outcome of next week’s Brexit votes, a slowing of economic growth and that there has been little more than rhetoric around the US-China trade talks, asset manager Brooks MacDonald deputy chief investment officer Edward Park said.
“There are still quite a lot of moving parts [to Brexit],” he said.
Still, technology stocks, which are particularly exposed to China, rallied 2.6 percent, their best day in five months.
They were also boosted by better-than-expected results from US chipmaker and sector bellwether Broadcom Inc, stirring hopes that the industry is recovering from a slowdown in Apple Inc and smartphone demand that knocked earnings late last year.
STMicroelectronics NV topped the Milan bourse, Infineon Technologies AG jumped 3.9 percent and AMS AG rallied 7.1 percent.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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