European stocks set for fourth week of gains
13 Aug 2021
European stocks scaled new highs on Friday and were on track for their fourth consecutive week of gains on optimism over a strong earnings season and steady recovery from the pandemic-led economic downturn.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.1% by 0712 GMT to hit a record high for the tenth straight session. Retailers and travel & leisure stocks were the top sectoral gainers.
Adidas rose 1.8% after it said it was selling Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for up to 2.1 billion euros ($2.5 billion).
Pet supplies retailer Zooplus shot up 40.4% after it accepted a takeover offer worth around 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) from U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.
French healthcare company Ipsen fell 9% after it withdrew a U.S. new drug application for palovarotene, its treatment for an extremely rare disease that causes muscles and tissue to turn to bone.
The FTSE MIB climbed up by 0.14% to 26,590.30. In the cash markets, the DAX Germany was trading up 0.31% to 15,985.65. CAC 40 in France rose by 0.19% to 6,895.60 while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. were up by 0.32% to 7,216.35. ,at the time of writing.