By Shubham Batra and Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) – European stocks hit their highest level in more than a year on Friday and ended their fourth straight week in positive territory, boosted by positive earnings from major U.S. banks and hopes of an end to the bull cycle. interest rates from the Federal Reserve.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.58% at 466.91 points on Friday after hitting the highest level since February 2022 earlier. The index is up 1.7% for the week, its longest streak of weekly gains so far in 2023.
The STOXX 50 blue-chip index also gained 0.6% to reach a 22-year high.
European stocks gained strength in April with the French CAC 40 index hitting record highs several times in a row, following evidence of cooling US inflation as well as an improving outlook for the eurozone economy.
On Friday, European banks were the biggest risers on the STOXX 600, with a jump of 3.0% to a one-month high after positive first-quarter earnings from large banks in the United States, which were eagerly awaited after the recent turmoil in the banking sector.
Interest-sensitive real estate stocks gained 1.8%.
European Central Bank officials have been supportive of further interest rate hikes, with ECB President Christine Lagarde saying underlying price pressures, driven by rapid nominal wage growth, are likely to remain high for some time.
In LONDON, the Financial Times index advanced 0.36%, to 7,871.91 points.
In FRANKFURT, the DAX index was up 0.50% to 15,807.50 points.
In PARIS, the CAC-40 index gained 0.52%, at 7,519.61 points.
In MILAN, the Ftse/Mib index appreciated by 0.89%, to 27,872.24 points.
In MADRID, the Ibex-35 index registered an increase of 0.57%, to 9,362.90 points.
In LISBON, the PSI20 index lost 0.18% to 6,153.35 points.
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