European stocks rose on Friday as fears of a widespread banking crisis continued to subside and a record monthly drop in euro zone inflation figures and a dip in the euro zone’s prime inflation gauge Federal Reserve feeling improved.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.66% at 457.84 points.
The index was up for a second consecutive quarterly gain, but ended March slightly lower after action-packed weeks following the collapse of two mid-sized U.S. banks. U.S and the acquisition of Credit Suisse.
The banking sector was down 0.4% – with Swedbank down 4.9%. The banking sector lost 14% in March, its worst monthly performance since 2020.
Data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat showed that inflation in the euro zone eased further than ever in March. However, core price growth has accelerated.
O European central bank there is still a “small way” to go with interest rate hikes to contain core inflation, French ECB monetary policy maker François Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview with a newspaper.
Technology and real estate stocks, which are more sensitive to interest rates, gained 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
In London, the Financial Times index advanced 0.15%, to 7,631.74 points.
In Frankfurt, the DAX index rose 0.69% to 15,628.84 points.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index gained 0.81%, at 7,322.39 points.
In Milan, the Ftse/Mib index appreciated by 0.34%, at 27,113.95 points.
In Madrid, the Ibex-35 index registered an increase of 0.28%, to 9,232.50 points.
In Lisbon, the PSI20 index appreciated by 0.36%, to 6,046.61 points.
Source: Moneytimes
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