Staff of Reuters 3 minutes Read (Click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window for a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK, and European financial markets.) * STOXX is forecasting a slight weekly loss. * UK airlines climb as a result of a move to ease quarantine restrictions* Airbus rises as Q2 deliveries increase (Adds a comment and changes the prices) Reuters, July 9 – On Friday, European equities gained as investors sought bargains after one of the worst selloffs this year due to concerns about global economic growth. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.8 percent, with sectors that had been hammered earlier in the week, such as autos and miners, gaining more than 1% each. Banks were up 0.7 percent this week, but were the hardest hurt by falling government bond yields. After a new surge in COVID-19 cases, mainly in Asia, and dismal U.S. and Chinese economic data prompted concerns about the robustness of the recovery, the benchmark STOXX 600 was on track to post minor weekly losses. “This kind of anguish is nothing new in the world of finance. The decline in yields, on the other hand, indicates that the rebound is either in jeopardy or at least being postponed “Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said in a note. “A lot will likely hinge on vaccination distribution plans and the speed with which they can be implemented in nations where instances are rapidly increasing.” In the next weeks, Britain plans to eliminate quarantine for fully-vaccinated arrivals from other countries, causing UK carriers such as British Airways-owner IAG, easyJet, and Ryanair to rise between 1.5 and 2%. With a rise of 1.8 percent, European travel and leisure stocks were the biggest gainers. Despite the lifting of COVID-19-related limitations, the UK’s post-lockdown economic recovery slowed dramatically in May, according to previously available data. Airbus increased by 3.5 percent after reporting a 52 percent increase in deliveries in the first half of the year. Burberry jumped 3.3 percent when Goldman Sachs raised the stock to “buy,” but Italian rival Salvatore Ferragamo fell 0.7 percent after the American bank downgraded it to “sell.” Investors’ attention will shift to earnings season, which begins in earnest next week. According to Refinitiv IBES data, the majority of European companies are likely to report later this month, with analysts anticipating a near-109 percent increase in second-quarter profit for STOXX 600 companies. Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru contributed reporting, and Uttaresh.V. edited the piece./n
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