European Stocks Rise in April on Higher Corporate Earnings and Oil Stocks

(Reuters) – European stocks rose by the end of trading on Friday after corporate earnings and higher oil stocks helped the European index outpace gloomy data from the region and bank stocks fell.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6%, up 1.9% this month, boosted by corporate earnings after the March turmoil triggered by the collapse of two US banks and a government-sponsored bailout of Credit Suisse.

“The month ends with a slight uptick in stocks after a week in which earnings provided new good news,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG online trading platform.

“But the first week of the new month will be as busy as the one that just ended, with big entities announcing decisions on interest rates and jobs data. There are still plenty of potential hurdles for any further gains in stocks,” he added.

The real estate and healthcare sectors rose, 5.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, outperforming major European sectors during the month. Technology and mining stocks posted the biggest monthly losses, down 4.7 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively.

Oil and gas stocks led the gains by the end of Friday, rising about 2 percent with rising prices, offsetting the decline in banking stocks, which fell 1.4 percent.

British Bank NatWest fell 3.7 percent after announcing a drop in deposits of about 20 billion in the first quarter. While the FTSE rose 3 percent in April, outperforming all major European indices.

Electrolux jumped 15.5 percent after the Swedish home appliance maker reported first-quarter sales.

Mercedes-Benz Group rose 0.7 percent, while German chemical maker Covestro rose 8.5 percent.

(Prepared by Mohamed Attia for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Ayman Saad Muslim)