European stocks on track for best monthly performance since November 2020

European shares rose, on Friday, heading for the first monthly gain in 4 months; Strong corporate earnings overshadowed fears of a global recession, while focus now turned to eurozone inflation and gross domestic product data due later on Friday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7% by 07:15 GMT, rising for the third consecutive session, and heading for its best monthly performance since November 2020.
The index rose 2.3 percent since the beginning of the week; Investors are hoping for a slower pace of US interest rate hikes after data showed on Thursday that the world’s largest economy contracted for the second consecutive quarter.
Luxury goods stocks received a boost after sales of Hermes rose sharply in the second quarter, buoyed by rapid growth in Europe and the United States, and rebounded strongly in China in June, sending shares of the Birkin bag maker up 6.7 percent.
LVMH shares rose 1.4 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Stoxx 600 index.
And the French bank BNP Paribas advanced 3.4 percent; It reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter after a decline in provisions for bad loans.
Preliminary readings on eurozone inflation in July and second-quarter GDP data are due later on Friday.
(Archyde.com)