Earnings, tech rally lift European stocks

European shares on Friday rose to their highest in a week as strong earnings reports and a rally in technology stocks boosted risk appetite at the end of a volatile month dominated by concerns about slowing global growth, reports Reuters.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.1 per cent, trimming its monthly declines to 0.9 per cent.
Worries about faster interest rate hikes, the Ukraine conflict, China's COVID-19 lockdowns and lofty valuations in US technology sector triggered sell-offs in global equities this month, with the STOXX 600 sinking to a one-month low at one point.
However, upbeat earnings reports this week helped markets come off the lows.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk gained 4.3 per cent after increasing its sales and operating profit outlook for the year, while French construction materials group Saint-Gobain rose 2.6 per cent after reporting record first-quarter sales.
Dutch technology investor Prosus NV, which has a major stake in China's Tencent, jumped 10.8 per cent after a report said US and Chinese regulators were negotiating on-site audits in a key step to avoid US delistings of Chinese companies.
"We saw during the pandemic that corporate earnings are fairly resilient to the large economic shocks. It is also signalled by recent earnings reports," said Elwin de Groot, senior market economist at Rabobank.