By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Euro below $1.06
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks extended their reach
into record highs Friday, aided in part by a weaker euro, as the
benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 headed for its strongest week in more
than two months.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4% to 410.57, as all but the utility
sector gained ground. Shire PLC topped the index with a 4.7% climb,
spurred after the pharmaceutical company said the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration will consider its application for its
Lifitegrast dry-eye disease treatment under a priority review.
Shire was the best performing on the U.K.'s FTSE 100
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-at-record-high-as-shire-property-stocks-gain-2015-04-10),
which rose 0.2% to 7,030.53.
A win on Friday would be the sixth in a row for the Stoxx 600.
Contributing to the move was a 0.7% climb for Germany's DAX 30 to
12,298.76, trading at record highs. Shares in the key exporter's
companies were benefiting from a pullback in the euro against the
dollar. A weaker euro can make products less expensive for overseas
buyers.
The euro (EURUSD) was trading at $1.0591, down from $1.0660 late
Thursday. The shared currency hit a three-week low against the
greenback Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-resilient-in-asia-with-fed-seen-on-track-to-raise-rates-2015-04-09-11034611)
after a strong U.S. labor-market update.
In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.2% at 5,219.40.
The Stoxx 600 was looking at a weekly gain of 3.4%, which would
be its heftiest since late January, according to FactSet.
Contributing to that rise was Thursday's jump of 1.1%, which pushed
the Stoxx 600 to its best closing level since March 2000.
Read: Thank Draghi! European stocks close at best level ever
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/thank-draghi-european-stocks-hit-highest-level-ever-2015-04-09).
This week, European M&A activity was thrust in the
spotlight, as Dutch parcel-delivery company TNT Express NV agreed
to be bought by FedEx Corp. (FDX) for about EUR4.4 billion ($4.8
billion). Also, oil heavyweight Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) (RDSA)
reached a deal to take over BG Group PLC for GBP47 billion ($68.77
billion).
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