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* U.S. jobs data further spurs demand for risky assets
* Euro zone banks record best week since 2009
* Hugo Boss jumps after confirming talks for new CEO
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
June 5 (Reuters) - European stocks racked up their best week
in two months on Friday, with investors scooping up battered
shares of banks, automakers and travel companies amid growing
signs that the pandemic-hit global economy is recovering.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the day 2.5%
higher, getting an afternoon boost from data that showed U.S.
economy unexpectedly added jobs in May after suffering record
losses the prior month.
Euro zone blue chip stocks jumped 3.8% and the
bloc's lenders rallied 7.6% for their best weekly gain
since 2008's global financial crisis.
Risky assets across the world have been lifted this week as
economies continued to emerge from their lockdowns, while a
bigger-than-expected stimulus package from the European Central
Bank and hopes for European-Union wide fiscal action gave a
further boost to the continent's markets.
Growth-sensitive cyclical sectors that have suffered badly
during the coronavirus crisis, such as oil & gas,
automakers and travel & leisure, were up between
4.9% and 5.8%.
The auto-heavy Germany DAX is just 6.7% away from
hitting an all-time high.
"It only takes a small change in sentiment toward these
stocks – a glimmer of optimism that the virus is under control
or ever increasing stimulus – and investors will question
whether the reversal has begun," said Lewis Grant, a senior
portfolio manager at Federated Hermes.
"These rallies can become self-sustaining as more investors
rush in through fear of missing out," he added.
Analysts at Bank of America on Friday forecast European
stocks would rise another 10% by the end of September on
expectation of a pick-up in business activity.
Hopes of a revival in tourist traffic helped British Airways
owner-IAG jump 13.6%, while shares in easyJet,
Lufthansa and Air France gained between 5.5%
and 12.5%.
Airbus rose 12.5% after Australia's Qantas
announced plans to reactivate plans to order planes.
German fashion house Hugo Boss was up 11.4% after
it confirmed ongoing talks for a new chief executive officer
with Daniel Grieder, former head of Tommy Hilfiger Global & PVH
Europe.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur, Kirsten Donovan)
