European stocks set for first weekly gain since start of war

European stocks set for first weekly gain since start of war

Stocks















Bloomberg

European stocks headed for their first weekly gain since the start of the Ukraine war as investors mulled central bank policy decisions and the outlook for economic growth.

The Stoxx 600 Index was up 0.9% in London after briefly falling as much as 0.2% as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused continued volatility.

Travel and leisure and mining stocks outperformed, while the utilities and food and beverage sectors were among the biggest decliners.

“Headlines, sentiment and technicals are driving equities, which is likely to continue without de-escalation in Ukraine, despite them now pricing a sharp slowdown in both EU earnings and the economy,” Barclays strategist Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note.

Global stocks are wrapping up another volatile week as red-hot inflation and surging commodity prices keep investors on edge about slowing economic growth. The benchmark Stoxx 600 is on course to post its first weekly increase in four, but is still in correction territory as traders swap European equities for US stocks, basic materials and gold following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Bank of America strategists.

Still, the latest data showed the UK economy bounced back above its pre-coronavirus