European stocks hit fresh highs at the open on Friday after a strong week of corporate earnings, shrugging off worries about Covid cases forcing the closure of a Chinese container terminal.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched up 0.11% in early trade to hit a record high for the tenth successive.
Asian shares were lower on news that congestion off China’s top two container ports Shanghai and Ningbo was worsening following the shutdown of a container terminal in Ningbo where a Covid-19 case was detected this week.
Adidas rose 2.48% after it said it was selling Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for up to €2.1bn.
Pet supplies retailer Zooplus surged 40.4% after it accepted a takeover offer worth around €3bn from US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.
French healthcare company Ipsen fell 10% to the bottom of the Stoxx after it withdrew a US new drug application for palovarotene, its treatment for an extremely rare disease that causes muscles and tissue to turn to bone.
