European equities hit a record high on Friday, marking the fifth straight session of notching new highs on fading concerns around global monetary policy tightening and positive earnings from some companies, reports Reuters.
The pan-European STOXX 600 shook off initial sluggishness to rise for the seventh straight session, its longest winning streak since August, and was up 0.2 per cent. The index was on track for gains of about 1.8 per cent this week, its fifth consecutive week in the green.
Dovish moves by the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, and similar comments from the European Central Bank chief have helped sentiment this week.
Investor focus now turns to US nonfarm payrolls data due at 1230 GMT, which is likely to influence the timing of an interest rate hike by the Fed.
"Financial markets got hooked onto cheap money and ultra-low rates ... stocks have been rising as this era of cheap money isn't coming to an abrupt end just yet," Susannah Streeter, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.
However, gains were capped by Europe's travel sector, which fell 0.8 per cent, dragged down by a 2.2 per cent slump in IAG. The British Airways parent company warned of a big loss in 2021 due to travel restrictions during the pandemic.
Material stocks also slipped 0.2 per cent on worries about Chinese regulations on coking coal, while oil stocks slumped 0.4 per cent.
On Friday, France's benchmark CAC 40 index breached the 7,000 points barrier for the first time ever, and was up 0.3 per cent.
The blue-chip index was led by insurer Axa, up 0.6 per cent after launching a 1.7-billion-euro buyback. Gains in Kering, Hermes and L'Oreal also helped the index.
Germany's DAX lagged regional peers after data showed industrial output unexpectedly fell in September as supply disruptions continued to take a toll on Europe's biggest economy.
Gains in the STOXX 600 were led by Allegro, which surged 7.9 per cent after the Polish e-commerce group agreed to buy Czech online retailer Mall Group for 881 million euros.
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