ROME: European stocks have posted gains as the euro hit a nine-week high against the US dollar on weak US data that dimmed the chances of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in early summer.
Markets had fallen sharply on the previous day after news that the world’s biggest economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in the first quarter, well below the 1 per cent rate anticipated by analysts.
But on Thursday, European equities were given a lift by eurozone data showing that the bloc has climbed out of four months of deflation.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index gained 0.2 per cent to 11,454 points while in Paris the CAC 40 was up 0.1 per cent at 5,046 points, ahead of the May 1 holiday weekend.
Trading on both markets will resume on Monday.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 per cent higher at 6,961 points. Friday is a normal business day in London, with markets shut only on Monday for a bank holiday.
The European single currency jumped as high as $US1.1249.
“The world’s most heavily-traded FX pair has been surging higher in the recent days mainly because of weakness in US data; correspondingly, European equities have been moving south,” analyst Fawad Razaqzada at trading site Forex.com said.
