Europe close: Stocks end week on an up note

16th Aug 2024 16:58

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher at the end of the week with risk appetite buoyed after data published the day before reduced concern around the outlook for the US economy.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was u310.27% at 511.45, rounding off a more positive week for equities after the recent sell-off.

France's Cac-40 was only a tad higher, rising 0.35% to 7,449.70, but the FTSE Mib jumped 2.2% to 33,040.81.

Shortly after the close of trading, euro/dollar could be seen at 1.0999 after adding 0.25%, whilst spot gold topped the $2,500/oz. mark at one point during the session.

Front-dated Brent crude oil meanwhile gave back 1.1% to $79.97 a barrel on the ICE.

On the equities front, shares in Nibe were up 1% as the Swedish heat pump maker reported first-half earnings.

Shares in Bavarian Nordic, which makes the Imvanex mpox vaccine surged 17% as the first case of a more dangerous variant of the disease was reported in Asia.

The drugmaker on Friday said it was seeking approval from the European Union regulator for the jab - currently licensed only for adults - to be given to children aged 12 to 17.

Shares in German chemicals maker Bayer jumped 10% after a US appeals court said it was protected under federal law which would limit liability from claims that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

The case was brought by David Schaffner, a Pennsylvania landscaper diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2006, who claimed the Bayer had failed to provide a cancer warning on the label of Roundup.

However, the US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act required nationwide uniformity in pesticide labels, and stopped Pennsylvania from adding a cancer warning.

Shares in video game maker Embracer Group rallied a day after the company reported a sharp fall in first-quarter sales.