FTSE up 1.62%; DAX up 0.64%; CAC 40 up 0.19% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - London, 22 Apr - European shares closed higher as jitters over geopolitical tensions eased and investors focused on fundamentals.

The Stoxx 600 index ended up 0.60%, buoyed by a good start on Wall Street.

The London FTSE 100 led the gains in the region and rose for a fourth straight session to post a record high close as sentiment was boosted by hopes of a forthcoming interest rate cut from the Bank of England.

The Milan FTSE MIB index bucked the trend and slipped as eight Milan-listed blue chip companies went ex-dividend.

Helping support European stocks, global sentiment improved as Middle East concerns eased after Iran downplayed the impact of the attacks from Israel and said it has no plan for immediate retaliation.

Caution however prevailed on lingering concerns over higher-for-longer US interest rates also following a slew of hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.

The main focus stateside this week will be big tech earnings and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge the personal consumption index.

Investors meanwhile continued to monitor fresh earnings reports from European companies to see how business was coping with high interest rates and sluggish growth.

The London FTSE 100 closed up 1.62% at 8,023.87 points, the Frankfurt DAX was 0.64% higher at 17,851.39 points, and the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.19% to 8,038.02 points, while in Milan the FTSE MIB fell 0.58% to 33,724.82 points and in Madrid the IBEX 35 closed 1.54% higher at 10,895.20 points.

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(RADIOCOR) 22-04-24 17:57:45 (0570) 5 NNNN