Global Stocks

European stocks finished Friday's session in rally mode, posting their biggest weekly win in more than a year alongside on ongoing recovery in equities on Wall Street. The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +1.09% leapt 1.1% to close at 380.62, its third straight gain. All sectors rose, led by telecom and health care shares. On Thursday, the index rose 0.5%.

The U.S. stock market on Friday posted one of its best weekly performances in years, recapturing half of the losses from the startling market correction earlier this month and discovering a new "wall of worry" to climb. The S&P 500 SPX, +0.04% closed nearly flat at 2,732. 22 on Friday and booked a 4.3% weekly gain, and is now only 5% below the all-time peak set in January. Dow industrials DJIA, +0.08% also halved its peak-to-trough losses, while both indexes are up about 2% year to date.

Asian shares started Monday higher as confidence in equities continued to return, with some markets in the region reopening after the Lunar New Year holiday. South Korea's Kospi SEU, +0.87% was up 1.2%, Singapore's benchmark STI, +1.06% gained 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average NIK, +1.97% rose 1.1%, helped by some yen softening after last week's sharp rises. Shares in Australia XJO, +0.64% also rose while stocks in New Zealand NZ50GR, -0.12% underperformed.