Live Markets: New faces lift the STOXX
LIVE MARKETS-New faces lift the STOXX Adds blog post
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NEW FACES LIFT THE STOXX
The unprecedented amount of money being spent on the AI buildout has been a key driver of this year's rally in European equities, boosting industrial and technology stocks. But progress in talks aimed at ending the conflict in the Gulf is now encouraging investors to broaden their focus.
Gains in media and telecom stocks helped push the STOXX 600 .STOXX to a fresh record high on Thursday, offsetting weakness in chipmakers and a 5% drop in industrial heavyweight Siemens, even after it said data-centre demand remained "exceptional".
Stealing the show was battered advertising group WPP WPP.L, which soared 23% in its biggest one-day gain since 1992, lifting the stock into positive territory for the year. The company beat organic growth estimates and CEO Cindy Rose said it was on track with plans to stabilise the business.
Peace hopes also buoyed luxury stocks .STXLUXP, cementing their double-digit recovery from May lows, while banks .SX7P, another beneficiary of easing geopolitical tensions, continued to demonstrate earnings strength.
Defence .SXPARO also remained in favour, hovering near January's record highs after rebounding almost 30% from the one-year lows hit in May. Deutsche Telekom's DTEGn.DE buyback plans, meanwhile, pushed its shares back into positive territory for the year.
(Danilo Masoni)
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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE FIRMER AROUND RECORD LEVELS AS EARNINGS FLOW IN CLICK HERE
AI STOCKS LEARN TO FLY — BUT AIN'T GOT WINGS CLICK HERE