By Pranav Kashyap and Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) -Europe’s main index rose on Friday, with healthcare stocks continuing their gains, posting gains for a fourth straight session and adding to a turbulent week that started with a flight from global shares on fears for a recession in the US.
The continental index closed 0.6% higher and briefly recovered the 500-point mark during the day.
The index managed a slight weekly advance after falling during Monday’s session as investors grew concerned about a possible economic downturn in the world’s largest economy.
Then Thursday’s U.S. jobs report helped calm investor nerves about weakness in the labor market, which had partly fueled fears of a U.S. recession.
The French, Spanish, Italian FTSE MIB (), and 100 all rose between 0.1% and 0.8%.
“Investors are buying the dip… but the lack of liquidity in the markets means we could see more volatility in the coming months and this could mean equity markets could take a step back,” said Teeuwe Mevangen, senior macro strategist. at Rabobank.
On the data front, German inflation rose to 2.6% in July, confirming preliminary data, while Italian EU Harmonized Consumer Prices (HICP) fell by 0.9% month-on-month in July.
Healthcare was among the biggest sector gainers, up 1.7%, while Europe’s largest company by market value Nordisk rose 6.3% to post its second consecutive daily gain after Wednesday’s rout, fueled by disappointing earnings prospects.
The property sector topped the sectoral gainers, boosted by a 5.5% gain in LEG Immobilien, one of Germany’s largest listed landlords, after it posted a smaller loss in the second quarter.
The German Lanxess, among others, rose by 6.3% after generating more cash than expected in the second quarter.
Britain’s largest investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown, rose 2.3% after agreeing a £5.4 billion takeover by an international consortium, which is betting on gaining market share in Britain’s competitive wealth market.
Homebuilder Belway (LON:) gained more than 3.4% after joining bigger rivals in giving a positive assessment of the sector’s prospects following the Bank of England’s key interest rate cuts and the new Labor government’s planning reforms had promised.
Lotus Bakeries rose by around 7% after the Belgian snack food company reported higher turnover and profit for the first half of the year.
On the other hand, British drugmaker Indivior fell 5% after broker Jefferies cut its price target from 2,390 to 1,800 pence.
Generali (BIT:) lost 2% after Italy’s largest insurer reported broadly flat results, although analysts flagged the weaker property and casualty segment as a concern.
