UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

Services data also provides cheer, but Stoxx 600 is headed for weekly loss

Stocks across Europe gained ground Friday, with Greece's major index leading the way higher after the eurozone agreed a debt-relief plan for after the country's bailout ends

Also helping sentiment was data showing business activity picked up in the eurozone after a slowdown. But the pan-European index was still on course for its worst week in three months.

How markets are performing

Greece's Athex Composite jumped 2.3% to 790.9 on the debt-relief news. There were gains in other so-called peripheral markets, as Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.8% to 21,843.04 and Spain's IBEX 35 added 0.6% to reach 9,755.20.

More broadly, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.3% at 381.92, topped by the financial and telecom sectors, but the oil and gas group edged down. On Thursday, the Stoxx 600 fell 0.9% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/auto-makers-italian-stocks-lead-european-shares-lower-2018-06-21) to mark its lowest close since April 25, according to FactSet data.

The benchmark was on track to fall 2% this week, which would be the worst weekly performance since the week ended March 23.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index rose 0.3% to 12,549.66. In Paris, the CAC 40 index was up 0.5% to 5,340.13, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.2% at 7,574.45.n

The euro rose to $1.1650, from $1.1604 late Thursday in New York.

What's driving markets

Early Friday, eurozone finance ministers agreed to ease Greece's debt burden when the country's bailout ends in August. Greece now has another 10 years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-agrees-plan-to-end-greeces-bailout-2018-06-22) to pay back almost EUR100 billion ($116 billion) of loans -- about half the bailout total since 2010 -- and to lend another EUR15 billion, in part to help build a cash buffer.

Check out:Greece gets green light to exit bailout program, but worries linger (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greece-likely-to-get-green-light-to-exit-bailout-program-but-worries-linger-2018-06-20)

Stocks rose at the open after services-sector figures for Germany and France -- Europe's first- and second-largest economies -- beat expectations for June. But the IHS Markit purchasing managers' index data also pointed to slower growth for the manufacturing sectors in both countries.

A "worrying slide in export order growth seen since the start of the year continued into June, with the latest survey's anecdotal evidence highlighting quieter client interest from the U.S. and China," said Phil Smith, principal economist at IHS Markit, in a statement.

IHS Markit data for the whole of the eurozone showed a cooling in manufacturing growth in June, though the composite PMI showed a pickup in overall business activity for the first month in five, buoyed by services growth.

A brewing U.S.-China trade war escalated in June, while the European Union's own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports are set to go into effect Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eu-to-impose-tariffs-on-32-billion-of-us-goods-starting-friday-2018-06-20).

Meanwhile, the oil market is in the spotlight Friday as OPEC and other major producers meet in Vienna to hash out an agreement on crude supply. U.S. oil and Brent futures leapt more than 1% after Iran's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, appeared to oppose a deal to increase crude output (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-climb-amid-signs-of-strain-ahead-of-opec-meeting-2018-06-22).

What strategists are saying

"Whilst OPEC continue to debate the exact level of production targets, the fact that any expansion is under discussion will probably bring an end to the bull run in the oil price, capping its levels around those seen in the past few months," said Jake Robbins, who manages the Global Alpha Growth Fund at Premier Asset Management, in a note.

Stock movers

The Stoxx Europe 600 Oil & Gas Index wavered around the flatline, as shares of some oil producers edged back, and those for equipment and services companies pushed higher.

Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA.LN) (RDSA.LN) and BP PLC (BP.LN) fell 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively. Energy-services provider John Wood Group PLC (WG.LN) leapt 2.4%, and Subsea 7 SA (SUBC.OS) picked up 1.5%.

Airbus SE shares (AIR.FR) were up 1.5%. The aerospace company has reportedly warned that it may have to leave the U.K. in the case of a so-called hard Brexit.

Italian banks were recovering from losses logged Thursday after two euroskeptic lawmakers won finance and budget posts in Italy's government. Shares of Italy's largest lender, UniCredit SpA, (UCG.MI) rose 2%. BPER Banca SpA (BPE.MI) shares surged 6.2% after financial services company Unipol Group SpA (UNI.MI) said it has raised its stake in BPER to just over 13%.

Shares of car makers continued to slip (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shares-in-german-auto-makers-fall-after-daimler-warning-tariffs-proposal-2018-06-21) as concerns about the effect of a EU-U.S. trade war persist. Daimler AG (DAI.XE), which issued a profit warning Thursday, fell 1% on Friday. BMW AG (BMW.XE) lost 0.9% and Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) shed 0.1%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 22, 2018 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)

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