The European STOXX 600 index rose four percent to record gains for the fifth week in a row, with French and German stocks closing at unprecedented high levels.
The benchmark index advanced more than one percent during the week, and most of this increase was due to a jump in technology stocks based on strong expectations for the American chip maker NVIDIA.
Shares of chemical and automobile companies were among the biggest gainers today, each rising one percent.
Banking shares rose by 0.8 percent, supported by a 4.9 percent jump for Standard Chartered shares, with the British bank announcing a billion dollar share buyback and rewarding shareholders with dividends after an 18 percent increase in 2023 profits.
In statements that dampened morale, Lagarde said on Friday that the relatively good wage growth data in the fourth quarter were encouraging but not enough to give the central bank confidence that it had defeated inflation.
German Federal Bank President Joachim Nagel said that the European Central Bank should resist the temptation to cut interest rates early, especially before the release of crucial wage data in the second quarter.
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