Europe close: Stocks end week on an up note
European shares were mostly higher at the end of the week and near record highs despite continuing worries about inflation.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.57% to 444.44, with UK stocks struggling despite a much bigger than expected jump in UK retail sales. London's FTSE 100 was essentially flat.
Milan's FTSE Mibtel on the other hand put on 1.1% to 24,975.0, while the Spanish Ibex 35 was ahead 0.87% to 9,204.0.
Euro/dollar traded down 0.47% to 1.2170, while front-dated Brent futures rebounded 2.1% to $66.47.
Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed that retail sales surged in April as non-essential stores reopened.
Retail sales jumped 9.2% on the month following a 5.1% increase in March and versus expectations for a 4.5% rise.
Sales volumes were now 10.6% higher than in February 2020, before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Investors were also digesting news from the IHS Markit survey which showed Eurozone business growth accelerated at its fastest pace in over three years in May, helped by a strong resurgence in the bloc’s dominant service industry as economies reopened.
The survey also showed supply bottlenecks in manufacturing led to production problems at a growing number of factories in Germany, pushing up factory input prices at a rate never seen before in the survey’s history.
In equity news, shares in German concert promoter and ticketing company CTS Eventim gained after it reaffirmed its view that the European live events market will restart in 2021 as more people were vaccinated against Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Cartier maker Richemont's shares was 5% higher as its net profit rose by a third in fiscal year 2020/21 and it proposed to double its dividend.
German car manufacturer BMW slipped after the company said it would have to set aside €1bn less than initially feared, for expected European antitrust fines for alleged collusion with rivals.
Lufthansa AG fell 2% as the Thiele family, the second-largest shareholder in the German airlines, sold more than half of its stake.
Trainline dropped further following news the day before of the UK government's plans to launch its own online rail ticketing service.
B&Q owner Kingfisher was in the red, down 4.4%, having rallied a day earlier on the back of its first-quarter update.