Europe: Shares clock best week in nearly two months

[BENGALURU] European stocks logged their strongest weekly gains since November on Friday, with Germany's DAX hitting a record high on the back of better-than-expected economic data and encouraging earnings updates from chipmakers.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7 per cent to bring gains for the first week of 2021 to 3 per cent, largely driven by hopes that a Democrat sweep of the US Senate would lead to a large US fiscal stimulus package.

That, along with optimism that the rollout of coronavirus vaccines will fuel a strong global recovery, boosted U.S. and Asian markets to all-time highs. Europe's Stoxx 600 trades nearly 5 per cent below its record high hit in February 2020.

Germany's DAX index outperformed, gaining 0.6 per cent, after data showed both industrial output and exports rose more than expected in November.

"Germany is the powerhouse in Europe. If you get data out with value, especially at these uncertain times, that is going to push prices up and that seems to be what is happening now," ETX Capital analyst Michael Baker said.

A European Commission monthly survey showed economic sentiment in the euro zone ticked up in December, but inflation held in negative territory, lending weight to expectations of loose monetary policy in the bloc.

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Tech stocks topped sectoral gains as chipmakers Infineon, AMS and ASM International rose between 1.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent after global peers Micron Technology Inc and Samsung Electronics reported strong earnings.

Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics rose 1.9 per cent after its revenue estimate for the fourth quarter came in above the previous range.

Travel stocks got a boost after French catering and food services group Sodexo raised its margin outlook for the first-half of 2021. Its shares jumped 10.5 per cent to the top of Stoxx 600, while peer Compass gained 4.2 per cent.

Economically-sensitive miners surged 11.5 per cent on the week, the best performance since April 2016, while oil and gas stocks were up 9.5 per cent over the same period.

The UK's FTSE 100, heavy on bank and commodity stocks, added just 0.2 per cent to stand 6 per cent higher on the week.

Retailer Marks & Spencer slipped 2.4 per cent after it reported another big fall in sales of clothing and homewares in the three months leading up to Christmas.

"It is very clear the gulf between the food business and the clothing and home unit is widening," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse fell 3.6 per cent after it forecast a net loss for its fourth quarter due to higher provisions for a long-running dispute in the US.

REUTERS