European stocks ended Friday on a positive note, bolstered by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence investments and easing concerns about interest rates. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.72%, with notable gains across various sectors as investors awaited quarterly earnings updates scheduled for next week. Despite rising oil prices impacting market sentiment, the mood was uplifted by comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who defended the financial stability of AI computing supplier CoreWeave Inc.

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In the UK, the FTSE 100 increased by 0.38%, while Germany's DAX surged by 0.95% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.28% higher. Switzerland’s SMI recorded a gain of 0.29%. The weekly performance saw the FTSE 100, DAX, and CAC 40 all showing overall week-on-week gains. Most European markets, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden, closed higher. In contrast, the Russian market faced a sharp decline, and Belgium experienced a slight downturn.

Babcock International in the UK rose by 3.6%, while WPP, Kingfisher, Weir, BAE Systems, AutoTrader Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, British American Tobacco, and National Grid posted gains between 2% and 3.1%. Ithaca Energy increased over 1% after announcing CEO Luciano Vasques would retire by March 31, 2027. Other companies such as Balfour Beatty, Diageo, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Imperial Brands, Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Reckitt Benckiser, Standard Life, JD Sports Fashion, and Pearson also saw gains of 1.5% to 2%.

However, Scottish Mortgage fell by 3.1%, with AstraZeneca and Polar Technology Trust decreasing by 2% and 1.8%, respectively. Several companies, including Natwest Group, British Land, Computacenter, Segro, and The Sage Group, closed lower by 1% to 1.2%.

In Germany, Rheinmetall experienced a significant gain of over 6.5%, while BMW rose by 3.5%. Other notable performers included Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius, and Volkswagen, which all saw increases between 2.7% and 3%. Porsche shares climbed after the company unveiled the Mission S vision model, part of its new design strategy. Conversely, SAP and Continental, Qiagen, and Infineon saw slight declines.

In France, EssilorLuxottica surged nearly 4%, with Renault increasing by 3.3% and several other firms, including Thales, Stellantis, Pernod Ricard, Airbus, Edenred, Accor, and Bouygues also witnessing gains between 1.4% and 3%.