Europe: Stocks close a whisker from record high

[BENGALURU] There's a 'Goldilocks' feel to the close in Europe this afternoon with data showing that the pace of the economic recovery seems to be in a sweet "not too hot, not to cold" space at the moment when it comes to inflation.

The Bank of England's stance on the rise in prices being only temporary was all in all quite reassuring for investors who can expect bottom low UK rates for the foreseeable future and some quantitative easing along the way.

No drama either from the US - quite on the contrary - where data showing a steady recovery of the labour market and newfound enthusiasm for Big Tech pushed Wall Street to new records.

The Stoxx 600 closed up 0.9 per cent and is set for a 1.1 per cent weekly gain, which would be its best performance in 7 weeks.

The pan-European index is about just 0.75 per cent away from its record high of 460.51 record reached on June 14.

Setting aside telcos which were off just 0.1 per cent, all other sectors landed in positive territory, with notably travel and leisure up 1.8 per cent and tech up 1.7 per cent.