European Markets Showing Strength

Another solid close for European bourses today, with many markets closing at or near session highs. As the Euro trades at its highest levels of the month vs. the dollar, European stocks are continuing their recent momentum.

Although U.S. markets have failed to muster up more than 2 consecutive days of gains since mid-April, a handful of European indices are currently stringing together 5 straight days of gains.

With today’s rise, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 are both up 5 straight days – their first 5-day winning streak in nearly 4 months.

Meanwhile, Spain's IBEX is also up 5 consecutive days for the first time in 2 months. However, its current rise is the index's best 5-day streak since mid-March 2009.

Not to be overlooked, France’s CAC 40 also has its biggest 5-day winning streak since mid-March 2009; the index is up an impressive 8% over the past 5 days.

Over in Germany, the DAX is stringing together a nice run of its own. It is up 4 of the last 5 days, but more notably, it’s now just 2.5% off its 1.5-year high set back in April. By comparison, the S&P 500 is more than 9% below its own April high.

European Markets Jump (Since June 8 Close):

Spain up 12.4%
Italy up 11.0%
Greece up 8.6%
France up 8.3%
Ireland up 5.4%
Russia up 5.4%
Germany up 5.2%
Portugal up 4.9%
U.K. up 3.8%

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