The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 1.12% on Friday, the highest level in two years, following Thursday’s decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to leave interest rates unchanged and some positive economic data, CNBC reports, citing News.ro .

The consumer staples index rose 5.2 percent, while technology shares fell 0.7 percent, giving up their recent gains.

Despite a shocking start to the year, a week of favorable market events lifted the regional Stoxx 600 index to its highest level since January 17, 2022, according to LSEG.

French drinks maker Remy Cointreau outperformed the market with a 15% rise after reporting a weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales decline.

Luxury goods maker LVMH also posted a 13 percent gain as fourth-quarter sales growth signaled a boost for the luxury sector.

Germany’s DAX rose by 0.32%, Paris’s CAC 40 by 2.28% and London’s FTSE 100 by 1.4%. The Italian index FTSE MIB rose by 0.73%, and the index of the Madrid Stock Exchange iBEX 35 – by 0.2%.

The impetus given by the ECB

The ECB met market expectations on Thursday and kept interest rates at their current record high. The deposit rate at the eurozone’s central bank remained at 4% for a third consecutive meeting, and the ECB reiterated that it will keep interest rates high “long enough” to bring inflation to its target level.

Even so, the market continues to see the central bank return to cutting interest rates in April or June after data on spring wage talks is released.

On Thursday, the ECB noted that domestic inflationary pressures are easing and that price growth is moving in the right direction.

Consumers in the UK are most confident about the economic outlook from January 2022 as a result of slowing inflation, a new survey showed on Friday.

They were similar in France, but not in Germany