Akhir 20, 1432 H/March 25, 2011, SPA -- European shares edged up on Friday, and recorded their biggest weekly gain in six months, with investors increasingly confident Japan's nuclear crisis would not derail global growth, Reuters reported. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.1 percent to 1,124.65 points, the highest close since March 10. Volumes were 77.5 percent of the 90-day average. Over the week, the index rose 3.3 percent, the biggest gain since September, and has regained almost half the ground lost in the fall between a February high and a March low. Drugmakers were among the gainers, with investors lured by cheap valuations. The sector is still down more than 4 percent in the year to date, compared with a 0.3 percent gain for the pan-European benchmark. Heavyweights GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Sanofi-Aventis rose between 0.9 and 1.2 percent. News that the U.S. economy is growing more quickly than previously estimated also helped shares. Stock markets worldwide have benefited from monetary stimulus. But some strategists say some momentum might be lost in the run-up to the end of the Federal Reserve's second round of quantitative easing in June. "As people anticipate the finishing of QE2, it could be a challenging time. The last time the Fed turned off the printing presses, the markets had a tough time," said Andy Lynch, who managers 2.5 billion euros ($3.50 billion) for Schroders. He added: "We will see interest rate rises, though it's not the right thing to do."
