Europe's STOXX 600 hits record high in strong start to March
By Ankika Biswas and Khushi Singh
(Reuters) -Europe's benchmark index hit a new record high on Friday propelled by rate-sensitive stocks, with investors continuing to cheer upbeat corporate earnings while looking past data that showed core prices remained stubbornly high.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.6% up at an all-time high, logging its sixth straight weekly gain.
Germany's DAX climbed 0.3%, also scaling a fresh record high, emerging as the best performer among its top regional peers so far in 2024.
Rate-sensitive real estate and technology led sectoral gains, with an over 1% jump each, while energy too gained on the back of a 2% advance in oil prices ahead of an OPEC+ decision on supply agreements. [O/R]
On the earnings front, Daimler (OTC:MBGAF) Truck raised its dividend after posting better-than-expected pre-tax 2023 earnings, sending its shares surging 18.1% after predicting 2024 earnings well above analyst forecasts.
The STOXX 600 briefly took a hit after data showed euro zone inflation dipped last month but underlying price growth proved to be sticky. Another data set showed manufacturing activity continued to contract last month, although firms were optimistic about the year ahead, underscoring some economic concerns.
«Core inflation is proving a lot stickier than we thought… we now struggle to see the ECB cutting rates in April and moving our call to June,» Pantheon Macroeconomics analysts noted.
The inflation figure also prompted Goldman Sachs to push back its ECB rate-cut forecast to June from April.
The data comes a day after U.S. prices logged their smallest annual increase in three years, keeping mid-year Federal Reserve rate cut prospects alive and boosting global market sentiment.
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