European shares rose during trading, Friday, to settle at the end of a volatile week dominated by concerns regarding sharp inflation and tightening monetary policy.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.7% by 0710 GMT, with banking, oil, gas and technology shares leading the morning gains.
Trading in global markets, especially US stocks, witnessed a fluctuation this week, with investors anticipating the tightening of financial conditions as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates several times to contain high inflation.
Despite Friday’s gains so far, the Stoxx 600 is expected to decline for the fifth consecutive week.
Deutsche Telekom was down 0.4 percent despite reporting higher-than-market quarterly earnings and revenue.
Japanese stocks
In addition, the Japanese Nikkei index recorded the highest increase in more than a month and a half as investors turned to cheap stocks, and SoftBank Group’s shares topped the gains.
The Nikkei jumped 2.64 percent to close at 2,6427.65, the highest daily increase since March 23, recovering from a decline to a two-month low recorded in the previous session. The index lost 2.1 percent this week.
The broader Topix index rose 1.91 percent to 1,864.20 points. And recorded a decline of 2.7 percent during the week.
SoftBank Group’s share was the most supportive of the Nikkei index, as it jumped 12.22 percent, despite the group’s Vision Investment Fund unit recording a record loss.
Yutaka Miura, chief technical analyst at Mizuho Securities, said investors bought SoftBank shares due to expectations that the Nasdaq would rise later in the day.
Tokyo Electron rose 5.54 percent following the chip maker announced strong forecasts for the current fiscal year.
Nissan Motor shares fell 2.93 percent following the automaker warned of weak operating profit for the current fiscal year, far below analyst expectations.
(agencies)
