European shares open higher

European shares rose in early trade on Friday, eyeing gains for the third consecutive session as sentiment rose after expectations that central banks would tighten their policies more than they indicated.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3 percent by 0714 GMT, influenced by a rally on Wall Street in the evening and the rise of Asian indices.

Technology and industrial stocks were the biggest supporter of the Stoxx 600 index, while the mining sector led the gains among sectors, up by one percent.

During the week, the index closed up by 1.8 percent, its best performance in 10 weeks. The banking sector was among the best performers this week, rising about 5 percent as major central banks continued their course to raise interest rates.

But Britain’s FTSE 100 underperformed the rest of the market on Friday, with utilities and healthcare shares falling.