Reuters
European stocks rise as Putin hints at progress in Ukraine talks
(Reuters) -European shares marked their biggest weekly gain this year, as signals from Russian President Vladimir Putin about a positive shift in talks with Ukraine helped markets end a volatile week on a firmer footing on Friday. Putin said on Friday there had been some progress and “positive shifts” in Moscow’s talks with Ukraine, without elaborating, immediately lifting investor sentiment. “Investors might find that trying to build a rally on comments from Vladimir Putin is a bit of a fool’s errand, but that has been the theme of the day,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
