* STOXX 600 reclaims April high
* Commodity stocks rally, best weekly performers
* Adidas surges on forecast lift
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick
May 7 (Reuters) - European stocks closed at a record high on
Friday, marking strong weekly gains as positive economic data
and upbeat earnings underpinned hopes of a swift economic
recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.9%% to a
record high of 444.93 points. It added 1.7% this week- its best
performance since mid-March.
Global stocks rallied to record highs as investors scaled
back expectations of policy tapering by the U.S. Federal
Reserve, after data showed the U.S. labour market had a long
road to recovery from the pandemic.
European technology stocks were the best performers
for the day, rising 2.2% as they recovered from a rout seen
earlier in the week. The sector ended the week largely
unchanged.
Basic resource stocks were the best weekly
performers, adding 7.2% for the week and ending at over a
decade-high as optimism over recovering global demand pushed up
base metal and iron ore prices.
The German DAX rose 1.3%, inching closer to its
lifetime high, while France's CAC 40 ended at its
highest level since November 2000 and UK's FTSE 100
breached the 7,100 mark for the first time since February 2020.
Data showed German companies increased their exports for the
eleventh month in a row in March, with growth coming in at 1.2%,
twice the rate economists had forecast.
A swathe of positive earnings and data has helped European
stocks rally to record highs this year, amid growing optimism
over COVID-19 vaccine programs spurring a return to normalcy.
"It's going to be an exceptionally strong couple of quarters
going forward, and that makes it very unlikely that the market
will suffer in a big way over the next six months," said Andrea
Cicione, head of strategy at TS Lombard.
The moment growth starts to slow down, probably at the same
time the Fed starts taking some liquidity away, markets will be
more vulnerable, Cicione said.
On the earnings front, German sportswear company Adidas
surged 8.4% after it raised its 2021 sales outlook.
Jewellery maker Pandora gained 3.0% after
reporting 214% sales growth in April.
UK's Meggitt jumped 8.3% after a media report of
takeover, while French mall owner Klepierre edged
lower on trimming its 2021 cashflow forecast.
Spanish energy and infrastructure group Acciona
rose 2.3% after it said it expects to list a stake in its energy
business in the first half of this year.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru
Editing by Anil D'Silva and Frances Kerry)
