LONDON: European stocks scaled new highs on Friday and clocked their fourth consecutive week of gains on optimism over a strong earnings season and steady recovery from the pandemic-led economic downturn.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.2% to a record high of 476.16, for the tenth straight session. The index has now matched its best winning streak since December 2006.

While the pace of gains has slowed due to thin summer trading, the index has logged nine-day gaining streaks seven times in the past fifteen years.

Germany’s DAX index ticked above 16,000 points for the first time ever, while France’s CAC 40 index index touched its highest level in nearly 21 years.

Both European and US stocks hit record levels this week, supported by rising earnings expectations and improving economic data, even as Asian equities were held back by worries about Chinese regulation and the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.