European stocks climb as global markets look for recovery after turbulent week; Stoxx 600 up 1.6%

LONDON — European markets were higher on Friday, tracking global gains as another volatile trading week comes to a close

The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 1.6% by late morning, with autos climbing 3% to lead gains as almost all sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory

European stocks are still on course for a negative week, having closed sharply lower on Thursday as concerns about inflation and ominous earnings reports from U.S. retailers dented global sentiment

Markets in Asia-Pacific advanced on Friday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index leading gains, as China kept its one-year benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.7% but cut its five-year loan prime rate by 15 basis points

U.S. stock futures rose in premarket trade, pointing to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday as traders watch to see if the S&P 500 will tumble into bear market territory

Global investors continue to track the war in Ukraine and its geopolitical implications, which have fed into soaring energy and food prices worldwide. The World Food Programme has said failure to reopen Ukrainian ports would be a declaration of war on global food security

The war is likely to continue throughout the summer and possibly beyond, despite signs that parts of the country are returning to some normalcy, Ukraine’s presidential advisor Oleksii Arestovych said, according to NBC News

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven leading industrial nations are currently meeting in Bonn, Germany, to discuss efforts to support Ukraine and global economic challenges arising from the conflict

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas told CNBC on Friday that leaders anticipate disruption related to supply chains will ease over the coming months, alleviating some of the global price pressures. However, he cautioned that there are still a number of risks to the outlook

“We see the lockdowns in China that are being extended that could lead to further disruptions, we see the increases in energy prices and maybe food prices that is going to trickle down in terms of headline inflation,” Gourinchas said

“So we are expecting inflation to moderate in the second half of the year and then 2023, but we could have bad surprises

On the data front, German producer prices soared 33.5% year on year in April, a new record annual rise as the war in Ukraine drives energy costs skyward in Europe’s largest economy

In terms of individual share price movement, Denmark’s Rockwool International climbed 10% to lead the Stoxx 600 after its first quarter earnings report

At the bottom of the index, Swiss luxury goods company Richemont plunged 12% after its full-year results