European stocks climb on energy boost; headed for weekly losses
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STOXX 600 up 0.5%
Swiss CPI up 0.6%
Reckitt cleared of liability in formula case; shares jump
Updated at 0909 GMT
By Pranav Kashyap
Nov 1 (Reuters) -European shares climbed on Friday, buoyed by a rally in energy stocks, but remained on track for their worst week in nearly two months as a tightly contested U.S. presidential election kept investors on edge.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.5% to 508.05, after falling more than 1% in the previous session.
The benchmark was poised to record a drop of about 2%this week, marking its second consecutive weekly decline.
As the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential electionapproaches, the race remains too close to predict, with opinion polls showing a virtual dead heat.
Investors are placing their bets on the possibility of Republican candidate Donald Trump returning to presidency, although he is neck-and-neck with Vice President Kamala Harris in several polls.
This heightened uncertainty has driven investors to safe-haven assets, driving up the U.S. dollar USD= andgold XAU=, which hit a record high thisweek.
In the current session, theenergy sector .SXEP was the biggest boost to the index, gaining 1.4%as oil prices surged on reports that Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days. O/R
Reckitt RKT.L surged 10% after the consumer goods group was cleared of liability in the latest preterm formula case.
The travel sector .SXTP fell 0.5% due to a 2.6% drop in Lufthansa shares LHAG.DE after HSBC downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy".
For the week, the banking sector .SX7P gained the most, driven byupbeat results from French bank Societe Generale SOGN.PA. The food & beverages sector .SX3P declined the most, dented bydour results from spirits maker Campari CPRI.MI.
Meanwhile, earnings reports from Wall Street giants such as Meta META.O and Microsoft MSFT.O indicate that Big Tech is increasing its investments in AI. However, the absence of rapid and substantial returns has raisedconcerns among investors.
Apple AAPL.O reported its earnings overnight, missing its fourth-quarter estimates for sales in China. .N
On the macro front, datashowed that the Swiss consumer price index rose 0.6% in October. Its benchmark index .SSMI wasup 0.7%.
With a relatively light data day in Europe, investors will turn their focus to the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later in the day.
"A 25 basis point cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed) next week should be nailed on, and today’s labour market data is unlikely to change this," said MaxMcKechnie, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty
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