European stocks rise amid optimism about China (AFP)
Coinciding with Croatia’s victory over Brazil, and their removal from the World Cup with nostalgia, and with Europe’s knot of soccer kings closing in on gaining a foothold in the world, the shares have soared. European Friday, driven by the rise in industrial and financial stocks, in the background optimism about ChinaHowever, fears of a recession, ahead of a series of central bank decisions, prompted the STOXX 600 Index to take a weekly loss, after a seven-week rally.
And the cursor closed Stokes 600 up 0.8%, breaking a five-day losing streak that was largely driven by fears of an impending global recession due to sharp interest rate hikes by central banks.
Data released Thursday in Washington showing a rise in US weekly jobless claims revived hopes that the US Federal Reserve will soften its aggressive stance on raising interest rates as China eases its tight restrictions anti-coronavirus.
The coming week will be crucial, as interest rate decisions are expected from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
Industrial stocks such as Siemens and Schneider Electric were among the biggest supporters of the European index on Friday, as were financials with exposure to Chinese companies.
Bank stocks broke a four-day losing streak and rose 0.9%.
(Reuters, The New Arab)
