Spanish stocks rebounded after the IBEX 35 index closed below the 7,000 mark for the first time in three years on Thursday. The index closed 1.9% higher at 7,040.60 on Friday, with BBVA SA up 3%. Utilities firm Iberdrola SA nudged 3.1% higher as UBS lifted the stock to buy from neutral. The index saw a weekly loss of 2.9% and remains down nearly 18% since the beginning of the year.
The yield for Spain's 10-year government bond rose six basis points to 5.97% on Friday, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb.
London’s leading shares index finished the week on a high after bullish comments from analysts helped lift some of the gloom over the banking sector. The FTSE 100 Index rose 27.6 points to 5772.2, with Lloyds Banking Group among the biggest risers after Investec said the part-nationalised business was on the mend. Shares were up 3%, or 0.8p at 30.1p.
The pound was down against the euro at 1.22 after the single currency regained some of its recent losses. But it was up against the dollar at 1.61 after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced a stronger than expected 1.8% rise in retail sales volumes between February and March.
In the U.S., stocks were also higher in recent trade.
Stock market bulls have had plenty of reasons to hold on to stocks. As New York’s S&P 500 index has more than doubled since 2009, so US company earnings have more than doubled, with aggressive cost-cutting boosting profit margins.
This week, though, with the first quarter results season well under way, that narrative of belt-tightening and rising profitability has begun to look less compelling.
Stocks rose Friday as better-than-expected quarterly reports from blue-chip companies like Microsoft and McDonald's, as well as firm economic data from Europe, helped ease concerns about the euro-zone's ongoing sovereign-debt issues.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111 points, or 0.9%, to 13075, and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced 10 points, or 0.7%, to 1386. The Nasdaq Composite gained 21 points, or 0.7%, to 3029. The benchmarks are on pace to record their first weekly gains of the second quarter.
Shares of Microsoft rallied 5.4% and led blue chips' advance after the software company reported fiscal third-quarter results late Thursday that exceeded both revenue and earnings expectations. A modest rise in demand for personal computers drove sales of its flagship operating system as the company readies its latest iteration, Windows 8, which is set to run on PCs and tablets later this year.
Asian markets came under pressure on Friday as a successful bond auction in Spain failed to raise spirits while weak US economic data also added to the general sense of pessimism.
The euro was supported by comments from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and Japan Finance Minister Jun Azumi who both said the IMF would achieve its goal of raising enough cash for a firewall against future debt crises.
Tokyo fell 0.28 percent, or 27.02 points, to 9,561.36, Seoul shed 1.26 percent, or 25.21 points, to 1,974.65 and Sydney ended flat, edging up 3.8 points to 4,366.5.
Hong Kong ended flat, adding 15.63 points to 21,010.64 while Shanghai closed 1.19 percent, or 28.23 points, higher at 2,406.86 on hopes China will announce monetary easing measures soon after comments to that effect from a central bank official this week.
Spain's Treasury on Thursday raised a higher-than-expected 2.541 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in its issue of two and 10-year bonds at rates below the key six percent that raises alarm bells for investors.
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