- Richemont sales growth beat expectations, shares up
- Luxury index leads gains on STOXX 600
- STOXX up 0.6%, DAX nears record high
May 16 (Reuters) - European shares hit a seven-week high on Friday lifted by healthcare stocks and strong results from Cartier-owner Richemont, set to end the week higher as a U.S.-China truce supported sentiment.
The region-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.6% as of 0833 GMT, set for its fifth consecutive weekly advance. Other local bourses also traded in the green at open, with Germany's hovering near a record high.
The heavyweight healthcare sub-index jumped 1.7%, boosted by Novo Nordisk and Novartis.
Europe's luxury index rose 2%, with Richemont rising 6.5%. The luxury group reported a slightly stronger-than-forecast 7% rise in quarterly sales, taking its shares 4% higher in early trading.
For the week, the European benchmark index rose 2.25% so far, with positive sentiment driven by a deal between Washington and Beijing to lower tariffs on each other which fueled optimism that a global recession could be averted.
A week ago, Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed on a limited bilateral trade agreement, making way for conversations that a deal with the European Union is also around the corner.
"There is a sort of renewed stability regarding the trade war and some more certainty for at least the coming time ahead helps stocks, but it's also fair to say that looking at stock markets now, it also seems that they're waiting for a new catalyst for further movements," said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist at Rabobank.
The region was closely monitoring developments from the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to meet face-to-face with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Peace talks between the two warring are expected to take place in Turkey on Friday, as both sides came under pressure from the U.S. to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.
On the data front, French unemployment rate came at 7.1% for the first quarter.
Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices rose 2.0% year-on-year in April, revising down preliminary data. The preliminary estimate had pointed to a 2.1% year-on-year rise.
Investors awaited euro zone trade balance figures for March as well as Italy’s inflation rate, due later in the day.
European Central Bank policymaker Martins Kazaks said that interest rates may be at their lowest point but higher uncertainty and sudden changes could alter the policy outlook.
Among other stocks, Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners rose 3.1% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'Overweight'.
Reinsurance company Swiss Re rose 2.1% after it posted a better-than-expected profit growth of 16% in the first quarter.
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Janane Venkatraman
Source: Reuters