European Shares Rally Led By Tech Stocks

(RTTNews) - European stocks rose sharply to hit record highs on Friday as upbeat tech earnings helped ease concerns about AI returns.

The euro held near multi-week highs against the dollar after Eurostat data showed annual consumer inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.9 percent in July from 2.8 percent in June on higher energy costs, bolstering the case for the European Central Bank to raise interest rates again in September.

French consumer price inflation accelerated to 2.1 percent in July from 1.8 percent in June, according to preliminary estimate from INSEE. The rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 1.8 percent.

Elsewhere, U.K. house prices grew at a slower pace in July as geopolitical tensions and fears of interest rate hikes weighed on property demand, data from mortgage lender Nationwide Building Society revealed.

House prices registered an annual increase of 1.8 percent after rising 2.2 percent in June. Prices were expected to grow 1.9 percent.

The pan-European STOXX 600 surged 0.8 percent to 655.15 after climbing 0.8 percent on Thursday following a wave of solid corporate earnings.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 both were up around 0.9 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent.

Tech stocks topped the gainers list, with Infineon surging nearly 6 percent and ASML Holding climbing more than 2 percent.

German sensor and radar maker Hensoldt fell 2.7 percent amid profit taking after recent strong gains.

Sportswear maker Puma slumped 6 percent after posting lower sales for the second quarter.

France's Saint-Gobain soared 7 percent after confirming its 2026 outlook.

Engie jumped 4.5 percent. The utility raised its full-year guidance after reporting better-than-expected first-half earnings.

Lender Credit Agricole advanced 3.3 percent after posting better-than-expected results for the second quarter.

Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant rallied 2.1 percent after Q2 adjusted earnings beat forecasts.

Building materials group Holcim declined 2.2 percent despite the company surpassing its Q2 earnings forecasts.

Hilton Food rose 2.2 percent. The British food packaging company said it would sell Dalco Food B.V., its Netherlands-based vegan and vegetarian business, to Livekindly Production NL B.V. for a total consideration of 5.4 million pounds.

GKN Aerospace owner Melrose Industries dropped 2.6 percent after it warned of additional exceptional costs linked to chemical tank incident at its Garden Grove facility in the United States.

Property listing firm Rightmove rose 1.3 percent on share buyback news.