Europe midday: Stocks on track for best week since March

(Sharecast News) - European stocks were rising for their fifth straight day on Friday as optimism continued to rise that central banks may be done with monetary tightening. The Stoxx 600 was up 0.29% to 444.77, for a roughly 2.7% gain for the week, with most major markets across the euro area rising around 0.2%.

That would be the pan-European index's best weekly performance since March.

In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 10-year German Bund was slipping by five basis points to 2.667%.

Possibly backing up expectations of a top being in for interest rates, or nearly, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that non-farm payrolls increased by 150,000 last month (consensus: 170,000).

In company news, consumer electronics retailer Currys rallied in London after agreeing to sell its entire Greek and Cypriot division for €200m (£175m), as it looks to simplify its business model and pay down its pension deficit. The move will allow it refocus on core operations in the UK and Ireland, and Nordics regions, the company said.

Also in London, Smith & Nephew was also rising after an upgrade to 'overweight' at JPMorgan, while Anglo American traded up after an upgrade to 'outperform' at Oddo.

Milan's FTSE MIB was outperforming other indices across Europe, with strong gains from financial stocks like Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena, Intesa Sanpaolo and Finecobank, and auto stocks Ferrari, Stellantis and Pirelli. On Thursday, Ferrari lifted its full-year sales guidance after a strong third quarter.