European stocks hit a record high on Friday after strong US and China data spurred optimism about a speedy global recovery, while strong results from Germany’s Daimler AG boosted automakers.
The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.3 percent. The German DAX gained 0.6 percent to hit an all-time high, while the UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent.
Global stocks stood near record highs after data showed China’s economic recovery quickened sharply in the first quarter of this year and US retail sales last month rose by the most in 10 months.
German car and truck maker Daimler rose 2.5 percent as higher vehicle prices and strong demand in China helped it post a better-than-expected surge in quarterly operating profit.
The wider automobiles and parts index gained 1.6 percent to lead gains among European sectors.
New vehicle registrations in the EU jumped 87.3 percent last month, data showed.
While the STOXX 600 posted its seventh straight week of gains with a 1.2 percent increase, the moves have been tight-ranged this week, with most European bourses holding near levels before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of the good news has been priced in,” Kingswood Group chief investment officer Rupert Thompson said. “Equity markets are probably going to continue to trend higher, but they definitely need to consolidate.”
Analysts expect profit for STOXX 600 companies to jump more than 55 percent in the first quarter of this year after a slide of nearly 40 percent in the same quarter last year, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Meanwhile, a Reuters poll of economists showed that the eurozone economy would recover at a much weaker rate this quarter than expected only a month earlier, with a slower vaccine rollout among the biggest risks.
Bank of Ireland Group PLC rose 6.5 percent to the top of STOXX 600 after it reached a deal with Belgian KBC Group NV to explore the sale of most of KBC’s Irish unit.
German meal kit delivery firm HelloFresh SE rose 4 percent after its first-quarter preliminary results beat expectations, leading to an outlook hike for this year.
Lancome maker L’Oreal SA slipped 2 percent on disappointment at figures from the company’s consumer products division despite overall strong group results.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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