European markets advanced to record highs on Friday as global stocks rely on strong U.S. economic data
Pan-European Stoxx 600 earned 0.4% in early trading to cross the record on Thursday. Insurance stocks added 1.2% to boost profits as all sectors except cars entered positive territory.
Global stocks seem to be going for the seventh consecutive day of gains after the first jobless claims in the US fell to a new pandemic level of 406,000, according to the Department of Labor on Thursday, giving a positive health indicator of recovery in the world’s largest economy.
Asian stocks also rose in trading from Friday, led to a gain of more than 2% for the Japanese Nikkei 225, while Futures on US stocks pointed to an open opening on Wall Street later in the day.
Investors are also following talks in Washington over an infrastructure cost package aimed at further boosting the recovery. Senate Republicans introduced a Counter-bid of $ 928 billion to President Joe Biden on Thursday, well below the White House’s latest $ 1.7 trillion proposal.
Returning to Europe, the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization will investigate Belarus due to forced grounding of Ryanair passenger plane to arrest a dissident journalist, a move that has sparked global outrage.
Russia, meanwhile, has blocked airspace for Air France and Austrian Airlines after two airlines changed flight plans to avoid ally Belarus in protest of government actions.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the lifting of the English restriction on coronavirus on June 21 could be postponed because the cases in the country of the Covid variant were first discovered in India, doubled during the past week.
In terms of data, a multitude of surveys on the business climate, economic sentiment and consumer confidence for May should leave the eurozone at 10 a.m. London time. France will release final data on GDP growth in the first quarter and preliminary readings of inflation in May.
Oil main Total holds its annual general meeting on Friday, with a group proposing a name change to TotalEnergies to signal its move to cleaner energy sources.
In terms of individual stock price movements, the Luxembourg telecom company HIS climbed 4% to the top of the Stoxx 600, while at the bottom of the index is the Dutch biochemistry company Corbion fell 5%.
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