(Reuters) -European shares hit a record high on Thursday, boosted by chip-related companies following an overnight rally on Wall Street, while heavyweight healthcare stocks also extended their rally from the previous session.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index gained 0.7% to 568.5 points by 0711 GMT, hitting an intraday record high. Most regional bourses also climbed, with Germany leading gains with a 0.7% increase.
Technology stocks added 2.3%, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. Sentiment also got a boost after Korea’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centres.
ASML and ASMI jumped more than 4% each, among the top STOXX gainers.
Healthcare stocks rose 1%, extending Wednesday’s rally when a U.S.-Pfizer deal on Tuesday helped reduce some uncertainty in the sector.
Autos also climbed 2.1%, boosted by a 3.2% gain in Ferrari after HSBC upgraded its rating on the Italian carmaker to “buy” from “hold”.
Investors would also look for any developments on the U.S. government shutdown front, which is likely going to delay the release of crucial U.S. jobs data due later this week.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru and Amir Orusov in GdanskEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
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