European shares closed at a record high on Thursday boosted by Airbus after the planemaker hiked its jet output targets, while German shares weakened after shares in pharmaceuticals maker Bayer were hit by a court ruling.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3% to 446.44 points, a record closing high.
French planemaker Airbus jumped 9.2% after it set out sweeping goals to expand production of jetliners, as the airline industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
German shares shed around 0.3%, lagging other regional markets, with Bayer the biggest drag on the DAX, falling 5.0%.
The stock marked its worst day in three months after a U.S. judge rejected its class action plan to settle future claims related to its Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers.
European shares have moved little this week, but achieved record highs as continued affirmations of easy monetary policy and waning concerns over inflation painted a favourable picture.
However, investors have been moving into more cyclical parts of equity markets for protection from the risks of rising inflation.
The European banks sector nearly 2% and basic resources jumped 3.0%, leading sectoral gains on Thursday.
A rise in metal prices on concerns over supply disruptions in top copper producer Chile, also helped mining stocks outperform. [MET/L]
“We continue to expect a rapid recovery which has also been reflected in the robust performance of European and German companies in the first quarter earnings season,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of global wealth management at UBS in a client note.
The FTSE MIB climbed up by 1.12% to 25,056.04. In the cash markets, the DAX futures Germany was trading down 0.28% to 15,406.17. CAC 40 futures in France rose by 0.69% to 6,435.60 while the FTSE 100 futures in the U.K. was down by 0.10% to 7,019.93 ,at the time of writing.
