European stocks were higher early Friday, after a late rebound on Wall Street on Thursday and gains in Asian shares Friday, as investors weighed the impact of sanctions on Russia announced by the U.S., U.K. and Europe following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index
SXXP,
was up around 1.0%, while the German DAX 30
DAX,
was up 0.7%, the French CAC 40
PX1,
up about 0.9% and the FTSE 100 index
UKX,
up about 0.6%.
Investors noted that U.S. sanctions targeting Russia omitted the energy sector, and natural gas prices reversed a huge rally with the benchmark Dutch Natural Gas Futures contract down as much as 28%.
However, disruptions to energy, metals and grains exports from Russia could still contribute to already high inflation in Europe and the U.S.
Education publisher Pearson
PSON,
was a notable gainer after the company launched a £350 million ($470 million) share buyback after posting 2021 results in line with recently upgraded forecasts. Shares of Pearson rose over 7% on the news.
Meanwhile, reinsurance firm Swiss Re
0QL6,
fell about 6% after a smaller-than-expected 2021 profit.
