European stocks head for 7th weekly gains ‎

European stocks seem to be heading for gains for the seventh week in a row, amid easing fears of tightening monetary policy globally, despite the decline in stocks today, Friday, ahead of the release of US jobs data.

According to “Reuters”, the European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.5 percent, after two days of strong gains. Investors are awaiting US jobs data, which will affect the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates in the future.

Economists expect an increase of about 200,000 jobs in October, and any decline will be an indication of the success of the Fed’s monetary tightening policy. Also, the latest European data encouraged the European Central Bank to choose a lower rate of increase.

The decline was mainly in the shares of the energy and banking sectors on the broader index on Friday, to move further away from its highest level since June, which it reached on Thursday.

The Stoxx 600 index is heading for weekly gains, recording an increase of about 0.3 percent, in the longest series of gains since April 2021, as optimism also stemmed from China’s easing of its position related to the strict restrictions imposed to combat Covid, which affected global growth.