European stocks rise on rate cut hopes, healthcare sector hits record high
For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window
Euro zone business activity gets boost from Olympics- PMI
ECB policymakers shift focus to September meeting
UK's JD Sports gains on Q2 sales rise
GN hits bottom of STOXX as earnings miss expectations
DB rises after settlement with some plaintiffs
STOXX 600 up 0.4%
Updated at 1600 GMT
By Ankika Biswas and Pranav Kashyap
Aug 22 (Reuters) -Europe's main stock index climbed on Thursday, with healthcare and retail stocks leading the charge, while investors cheered growing prospects of interest rate cuts by major central banks and sifted through a wave of economic data globally.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed 0.4% higher, rising for the second day and closing at its highest level in thismonth.
The retail sector .SXRP rose to the top, boosted by an11% jump in JD Sports JD.L after the British sportswear retailer reported an improvement in second-quarter underlying sales growth.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Siegfried Holding SFZN.S advanced 7% after better-than-expected first-half results, while Biomerieux BIOX.PA rose nearly 6% after UBS initiated coverage of the French biotechnology stock with a "buy".
The healthcare sector .SXDP hit a record high, also thanks to a 2.4% rise in Europe's most valuable company by market value, Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO.
With market participants broadly pricing in a 25-basis-pointrate cut by both the Fed and the ECB in September, the occurrence of these could provide a fresh boost to risk assets globally.
The European Central Bank's July meeting minutes showed policymakers saw no urgency in cutting rates but hinted at a fresh discussion in September due to growth concerns.
Different data sets showed euro zone business activity had surprisingstrength in August, potentially weakening expectations for two more rate cuts from the ECB, while last quarter's slowing negotiated wage growth bolstered the case for a September rate cut.
"While further ECB cuts are on the way - we see cuts in September and December this year - the broader path is likely to be gradual and subject to considerable uncertainty," said Chris Hare, senior economist at HSBC.
Investors also awaited policymakers' commentary at Jackson Hole this week, hoping that the world's most influential central bank, theU.S. Federal Reserve, will kick off its rate-cutting cycle next month.
Over in the U.S., weekly jobless claims ticked up but were steadying near levels consistent with gradual labour market cooling that should aid a September U.S. rate cut.
As for other individual stocks, Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE rose 4% after announcing settlements with someplaintiffs in Postbank acquisition lawsuits.
Reinsurance company Swiss Re SRENH.S gained 4.5% after results, while CTS Eventim EVDG.DE surged 6% after the German ticketing group raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Aegon AEGN.AS fell 5.4% after the Dutch insurer booked a charge of around $400 million in the first half of 2024, while Danish hearing aid and audio solutions maker GN Store Nord GN.CO dropped 9% after second-quarter results miss.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Janane Venkatraman and Josie Kao
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
