European shares set for second week of gains

LONDON: European shares opened higher on Friday, set for a second week of gains as fears of a full-blown trade war were kept in check and optimism about the next season of corporate earnings continued to grow.

The STOXX 600 was up 0.5 per cent by 0732 GMT with a broad range of sectors, from industrials to technology or financials, adding points to the pan-European index.

British recruitment company Hays posted the best performance with a 4.7 per cent rise after saying it expected full-year operating profit to exceed market expectations.


On the other hand, Switzerland's GAM Holding fell about 6 per cent as it said it would take an impairment charge of around 59 million Swiss francs related to its 2016 acquisition of British hedge fund Cantab Capital Partners.

Shares in Belgian telcos also suffered as the government appeared determined to have a fourth mobile phone operator serving the country.

Telenet, Proximus and Orange Belgium fell 5.2 per cent, 2.9 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. (Writing by Julien Ponthus; Editing by Kevin Liffey)