European stock markets They rose on Thursday, on the eve of a long Easter weekend, as real estate and travel values helped offset worries about a US economic slowdown sparked by bleak data.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.5%, posting its third straight weekly gain, led by banking sector stocks.
After a good start to the year, European equities continued to come under selling pressure from last month as recent banking turmoil kept risk sentiment fragile, with investors worried about mixed economic data and the looming recession.
Markets are still waiting for the European Central Bank (ECB) to continue its interest rate hikes at the next monetary policy meeting.
“With ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane warning that food price inflation in the EU is advancing, the pressure is mounting for the ECB to continue raising rates in the coming weeks,” said Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK.
US economic data suggests that the labor market is feeling the effects of the series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it tries to cool the economy and thus curb inflation.
Investors will closely watch the key US jobs report due out on Friday for more clues on the interest rate outlook.
Back to the euro zone, German industrial production rose significantly more than expected in February, partly thanks to vehicle manufacturing, leading to a 2% rise from the previous month.
Real estate shares led sector gains, up 2.7%.
Among the individual values, Shell rose 2.3% as the oil and gas giant expects higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in the first quarter. following disruptions at its Australian plants last year.
The markets will be closed on Friday and Monday for Good Friday and Easter.
Source: Ambito
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