European stocks mark best month since November 2020 with balance sheets and GDP

European shares rose on Friday to post their first monthly gain in four, with a series of strong earnings reports from European companies overshadowing fears of a global recession and some solid economic data also supporting it.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 1.28% at 438.29 points, a high in almost two months, and recorded its best monthly performance since November 2020.

Boosting sentiment, the eurozone economy grew much faster than expected in the second quarter, with gross domestic product (GDP) up 0.7% from the January-March period and up 4.0% over the same period in 2021, strongly beating expectations for a quarterly gain of 0.2% and an annual gain of 3.4%.

Concerns about a recession have led to reduced bets on monetary tightening by central banks, with financial markets now pricing in an approximately 44% chance of a 0.50 percentage point interest rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB) in September. , compared to a 50% probability seen earlier this week.

Oil stocks led the gains as crude prices jumped more than $4 a barrel as attention turned to next week’s OPEC+ meeting, while bank shares rose 1.6%, with British lender NatWest gaining. 8.1% after increasing its full-year revenue outlook.

Luxury stocks were boosted by strong quarterly sales growth from Hermès and L’Oreal. Shares of handbag maker Birkin jumped 7.5%, while those of the cosmetics group gained 3.8%.

• In London, the Financial Times index advanced 1.06%, to 7,423.43 points;
• In Frankfurt, the DAX index rose 1.52% to 13,484.05 points;
• In Paris, the CAC-40 index gained 1.72%, at 6,448.50 points;
• In Milan, the Ftse/Mib index appreciated by 2.16%, at 22,405.48 points;
• In Madrid, the Ibex-35 index registered an increase of 0.88%, to 8,156.20 points;
• In Lisbon, the PSI20 index depreciated by 0.61%, to 6,123.23 points.