On Thursday, European stocks reached a two-week high as a rally on Wall Street overnight was fueled by a surprise profit by Swedish retail behemoth H&M and dissipating worries about stress in the banking sector.
After key U.S. stock indexes increased on Wednesday, the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) increased 0.6% by 0708 GMT, reaching its highest level since March 13. For the first time since March 6, before the start of the financial crisis, the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) closed above its 50-day moving average.
H&M (HMb.ST) gained 7.3% after the second-largest fashion store in the world revealed a surprising operating profit for the months of December and February, but cautioned that cold weather had delayed overall spring sales.
In general, the retail indicator (.SXRP) increased 1.8%.
European banks (.SX7P) increased 0.4% to reach a one-week high as investors gained confidence from the successful selling of the assets of the failed Silicon Valley Bank and the acquisition of the troubled Swiss lender Credit Suisse. (CSGN.S).
Shares of real estate companies (.SX86P) increased 2.3%, continuing a recovery from this week’s five-month lows.
Vestas (VWS.CO), a manufacturer of wind turbines in Denmark, increased 4.9% after receiving a Brazilian order.