Demand for equities remained robust as Europe’s top shares rose for the fifth straight session on Thursday, supported by central bank stimulus and boosted by results.
The FTSEurofirst 300 climbed 8.82 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,200.64, heading back towards five-year highs of 1,207 seen in late March.
Recent weak global economic data including record-high jobless figures from Spain on Thursday have sparked expectations of more stimulus from central banks.
“Overall investors see the potential for new measures and the distortion of global valuations as a reason to hold dogmatically onto their equities,” said Guy Foster, head of portfolio strategy at Brewin Dolphin.
“Shares are seen as a yield asset class with risks skewed to the upside. Bonds have lost their appeal for the opposite reason.”
Low returns on top-rated government bonds are leading central banks to take on more risk in their reserve portfolios, with almost two-thirds more inclined to invest in equities compared with a year ago, a survey showed.
The prospect of more efforts to stimulate the economy helped lift heavily shorted miners, which climbed 2.4 per cent, tracking higher commodity prices.
“Commodities are up,...
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