© Archyde.com. An electronic board displaying the German DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, on Wednesday. Photo: Archyde.com.
(Archyde.com) – The European index closed at a three-month high on Thursday, boosted by gains in real estate stocks, after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s November meeting boosted expectations of a slower rate hike.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5 percent to its highest since Aug. 18, although trading volumes were limited due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US market.
Wall Street closed with strong gains on Wednesday after minutes from the US central bank meeting showed a “significant majority” of policymakers agreed that “it will probably be appropriate soon” to slow the pace of interest rate increases.
The STOXX 600 rose more than 15 percent from its lows at the close on Sept. 29, as an upbeat earnings season and hopes of a slower rate hike by the Federal Reserve topped concerns about a possible recession in Europe.
The interest rate-sensitive real estate sector was the best performer in Europe, rising 2.5 percent as German government bond yields fell.
German housing stock LEG Immobilien jumped 6.8 percent after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) upgraded the German real estate company’s rating to Overweight.
(Prepared by Amira Zahran for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Mustafa Saleh)