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European Stocks Post Biggest Week Since May on Growth Optimism

By Macarena Muñoz
Visitors in the lobby of the Euronext NV stock exchange in Paris, France, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. France's finance minister Bruno Le Maire said talks with officials in China this weekend were positive and called for Chinese companies to invest more into Europe, especially in electric vehicles and other sectors to combat climate change. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg (Nathan Laine/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose Friday to notch their biggest weekly gain since May, as largely upbeat economic data globally eased worries about the health of the economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.3% by the close, although it was off session highs following disappointing US housing data. 

Autos and retail stocks gained the most, while energy and real estate lagged. The FTSE MIB Index jumped 2.2%, outperforming the regional benchmark as Italian stock trading resumed after Thursday’s holiday.

Among individual movers, Bayer AG jumped after it scored a significant win in long-running cancer litigation in the US.

New-home construction in the US fell in July to the lowest level since the aftermath of the pandemic as builders respond to weak demand that’s keeping inventory levels high. Sentiment had been boosted earlier this week by economic data showing strong US retail sales and cooling inflation, as well as economic rebounds in Japan and the UK. 

The main European regional benchmark posted a weekly gain of 2.5%, the most since mid-May.  

“It was easy to please the market with the appropriate data after last week’s shockwaves were absorbed, which were caused by part of the market itself,” said Guillermo Hernandez Sampere, head of trading at asset manager MPPM. “A showdown in September is nearby, but the Fed should not be under heavy pressure to ease too much too fast.”

Meanwhile, strategists at Bank of America Corp. raised their year-end target for the Stoxx 600, but even the new forecast is one of the most bearish among strategists tracked by Bloomberg. The team led by Sebastian Raedler expects further weakening in global growth and a deterioration in European earnings estimates.

For more on equity markets:

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  • US Stock Futures Unchanged; Planet Labs, Portillo’s Gain
  • Summer Breeze: The London Rush

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