European stocks rose at the open, with the healthcare sector leading the gains

European stocks rose at the open on Friday, supported by gains led by the healthcare sector at the end of a busy week of monetary policy decisions by central banks.

And by 0717 GMT, the European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.2%, and the healthcare sector index rose 0.5%.

The STOXX 600 ended lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank raised lending costs and waved greater monetary tightening in an effort to control persistent inflation, a day after the US central bank suspended interest rate hikes.

In contrast, the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Friday despite stronger-than-expected inflation.

The interest-sensitive technology sector index fell 0.1 percent.

Shares in Travis Perkins, the largest British building materials company, fell 7.4 percent, to become at the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index, after the company said that profits would be affected by difficulties in the local housing market.