BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended mostly higher on Friday as optimism about economic recovery after the European Union's proposal for a massive fiscal stimulus helped offset concerns about a second wave of coronavirus infections, and prompted investors to pick up stocks.
The recent strong retails and jobless claims data from the U.S. further aided sentiment.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.56%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 1.1%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.4% and 0.42%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI settled 0.78% higher.
Among other markets in Europe, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkey ended on positive note.
Austria, Belgium and Sweden declined, while Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland and Ireland ended flat.
Among the stocks in UK's FTSE 100 index, Aveva Group, Taylor Wimpey, Centrica, Diageo, 3i Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, Hikma Pharmaceutical, Compass Group and Severn Trent gained 3 to 4.5%.
Scottish Mortgage, Unilever, HSBC Holdings, Ashtead Group, WPP and Anglo American also rose sharply.
Berkeley Group, Whitbread, Barclays, Royal Bank and Rio Tinto closed weak.
In Germany, SAP moved up more than 2.5%. E.ON, Lufthansa, Fresenius, Beiersdorf, Bayer and Henkel gained 1.2 to 2%.
Wirecard shares plunged more than 35%, extending a staggering 60% loss it posted in the previous session. The stock tumbled after the payments processor said it has suspended the member of the Management Board Jan Marsalek on a revocable basis, after revealing that auditors couldn't find about 1.9 billion euros in cash. Also, the company's Chief Executive Officer Markus Braun stepped down following EY's decision to decline to sign off 2019 full-year accounts.
In the French market, Danone gained about 3.4%. Dassault Systemes, Essilor Exottica, Orange, Sanofi, Airbus and Carnival gained 1.2 to 2%.
Valeo shares declined by about 6%, while Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Peugeot and BNP Paribas lost 1.4 to 2%.
In economic releases, the euro area current account surplus fell to EUR 14.4 billion in April from EUR 27.4 billion in March, data from the European Central bank showed. This was the lowest since April 2017, when the surplus was EUR 11.7 billion.
The surplus on trade in goods narrowed to EUR 13 billion from EUR 32 billion a month ago, while the surplus on services doubled to EUR 4 billion from EUR 2 billion.
U.K. retail sales recovered at a faster than expected pace in May driven by non-food store sales and the budget deficit reached a record high amid high expenditure, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Retail sales volume increased at a pace of 12% on month, in contrast to an 18% decrease in April, the data showed. Sales were forecast to climb 5.7%.
Meanwhile, European Union governments kicked off negotiations today over a proposal for a 750 billion euro recovery fund to tackle the Covid-19 crisis. However, the members are somewhat divided over the stimulus plan.
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