London — European stocks rose on Thursday as better-than-expected corporate earnings offset worries about rising cases of Covid-19 and a sharp escalation in tensions between the US and China.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, rose 0.2%, close to Tuesday’s level, which was its highest since late February. “You almost have a tug of war in markets between positives and negatives and its finally balanced. It looks like markets are pricing a V-shaped recovery so you can expect small negatives to have an outsize impact on markets,” said Justin Onuekwusi, portfolio manager at Legal & General Investment Management. “But the pullback is likely to be short-lived as there are people waiting for a dip.”
Despite the virus being far from under control, analysts say unprecedented stimulus measures to boost battered economies continue to provide structural support for riskier assets.