European Stocks Recover After Early Weakness, Close Broadly Higher

(RTTNews) - European stocks started off on a weak note on Thursday, but gained in strength as the session progressed and eventually ended on a positive note even as investors continued to weigh the possible impact of rising interest rates on global economic growth.

Worries about rising Covid-19 cases in China weighed as well, but markets gained as investors looked to pick up stocks that had taken a severe beating in some recent sessions on recession fears.

There are concerns China may not be sharing data on any signs of evolving strains that could spark fresh outbreaks in countries around the world.

After Beijing announced plans to reopen its borders, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, India and the United States have announced mandatory tests on visitors from China.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.68%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.21%, Germany's DAX surged 1.05% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.97%, while Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.41%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Greece ended weak, while Czech Republic and Iceland closed flat.

In the UK market, Scottish Mortgage surged 3.75%. Airtel Africa climbed 2.6%, while Next, DCC, Schrodders, Entain, Ocado Group, Segro, St. Jame's Place, RightMove, Auto Trader Group, Pershing Square Holdings, ABRDN and United Utilities gained 1 to 2%.

Antofagasta ended more than 2% down. Anglo American Plc, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco, Fresnillo and BAE Systems posted moderate losses.

In Paris, Eurofins Scientific gained more than 3%. Dassault Systemes, Stellantis, STMicroElectronics, Vivendi, Capgemini, LVMH, Veolia, Kering, L'Oreal, Hermes International, Sanofi, Essilor, Saint Gobain, Alstom and Publicis Groupe gained 1 to 2.3%.

In the German market, Zalando rallied nearly 4%. Sartorius surged 3.4%. Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, E.ON, Fresenius Medical Care, HelloFresh, Infineon Technologies, Puma and Porsche Automobil gained 2 to 3%.

In economic news, data from European Central Bank revealed that Growth in the euro area money supply and loans to the private sector eased in November.

The broad money supply M3 growth eased to 4.8% in November from 5.1% in October. The narrow measure M1 also grew at a weaker pace of 2.4% after rising 3.8% in the previous month.

In the three months to November, M3 growth averaged 5.4%, the data showed.