Frankfurt [Germany], July 3: European stock markets closed sharply higher on Thursday, led by gains in pharmaceutical and other defensive stocks, as easing concerns about inflation and interest rates boosted investor sentiment. Fresh reform measures announced by the German government and encouraging corporate news also supported markets.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.41 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.67 percent, while Germany's DAX surged 2.16 percent to a record closing high. France's CAC 40 advanced 1.65 percent and Switzerland's SMI added 1.69 percent.
Elsewhere in Europe, markets in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey also ended firmly higher.
Russia's market closed sharply lower, while Iceland and the Netherlands finished little changed.
In London, Babcock International, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca, Melrose Industries, St. James's Place and Airtel Africa climbed between 4 percent and 5.6 percent.
Other notable gainers included GSK, Diageo, Tesco, Lloyds Banking Group, British American Tobacco and Marks & Spencer.
On the downside, Polar Capital Technology Trust fell 3.6 percent, while Entain, Computacenter and JD Sports Fashion posted losses of between 1 percent and 2.2 percent.
Shares in electrical retailer Currys fell 1.4 percent, recovering from steeper losses earlier in the session despite stronger annual earnings and a new £50 million share buyback programme.
In Frankfurt, Bayer surged nearly 9 percent after announcing a restructuring of its US Roundup operations.
Rheinmetall gained 6.7 percent, while Vonovia rose 6 percent. Strong advances were also recorded by Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, BMW, Deutsche Telekom and Mercedes-Benz Group.
Infineon Technologies fell about 2 percent, while Scout24 ended slightly lower.
In Paris, ArcelorMittal jumped 6.5 percent and Thales Group gained 4.8 percent.
Luxury goods makers LVMH and Hermes, along with Sanofi, Airbus and Danone, all posted solid gains.
Food services group Sodexo soared 7.5 percent after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and raising its full-year organic revenue growth forecast.
Legrand fell 2.7 percent, while Renault Group, Stellantis and STMicroelectronics ended modestly lower.
In economic news, official figures showed France's budget deficit narrowed to ?93.3 billion in the January-May period from ?94.0 billion a year earlier.
Source: Qatar Tribune