European Stocks Close at Fresh Peaks
European stocks closed sharply higher on Thursday, benefiting from the continuation of a positive earnings season and pullback in benchmark borrowing costs.
The Eurozone’s STOXX 40 jumped 1.7% to close at a near 25-year high of 5,362, and the pan-European STOXX 600 advanced 1.3% to close at a record high of 545. Heavyweight banks led the gains despite mixed results for Dutch giant ING, with BBVA, Santander, and UniCredit soaring between 6% and 3.5%. In the meantime, industrials performed well, with Saint Gobain adding 6.2% while Siemens gained 3.5%.
Outside the Euro Area, British stocks received a boost from a dovish vote tally in the BoE’s expected 25bps rate cut, in addition to a rebound for base metal miners and more strong results for pharmaceutical giants. AstraZeneca took the spotlight with a 6.3% surge following its strong results, consistent with moves from rivals Novo Nordisk and GSK this week.
Source: Trading Economics
