European stock markets reached new record highs on Friday, closing out a strong week despite subdued activity in global markets due to the closure of US exchanges for the country’s 250th Independence Day anniversary. The Stoxx Europe 600 index climbed 0.7 percent, while Germany’s Dax index gained 0.8 percent, setting a fresh record and posting its best weekly performance since April 2022. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC 40 increased 0.4 percent.

Analysts attributed the European market gains to broadening market participation supported by lower oil prices and cautious technology sector performance. “Receding geopolitical risks mean the macro outlook has improved,” Barclays analysts noted, highlighting the positive sentiment among investors.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi index surged 5.8 percent on the day, recovering some losses from earlier in the week, although it still ended the week in negative territory. Japan's Topix index advanced 1.2 percent. The Kospi’s rebound helped ease concerns around the technology sector, according to Mohit Kumar, chief European economist at Jefferies.

Energy markets saw Brent crude rise 0.4 percent to $72.11 per barrel. Precious metals sustained their upward momentum, with gold climbing 1.3 percent to $1,475 per troy ounce and silver increasing 2.3 percent to $22.40 per troy ounce.

Despite the positive weekly finish for major US equity indices on Thursday, uncertainty remained over the technology sector. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the week in the black, although memory chip manufacturer Sandisk suffered a 16.5 percent drop—the largest weekly decline since the early days of the US-Iran conflict. Barclays analysts cautioned that semiconductor and technology stocks could face volatility over the summer, with investors awaiting stronger earnings upgrades during the second-quarter reporting season to sustain the rally.

In bond markets, yields on 10-year UK gilts edged up slightly to 4.79 percent, while German Bund yields rose to 2.93 percent following the recent announcement of sizeable tax cuts by the German government.

Currency trading remained relatively quiet, with the euro gaining 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.144 and the British pound also strengthening by 0.1 percent to $1.335.