Frankfurt (Reuters) - More investors are flocking to European stock markets in the hope of imminent interest rate cuts in the US and the euro zone.

The Dax rose by up to 0.8 percent on Friday, hitting a record high of 17,816.52 points for the seventh day in a row. "It is the most successful series since 2015," said investment strategist Jürgen Molnar from brokerage firm RoboMarkets. The EuroStoxx50 temporarily rose by 0.6 percent to a new 23-year high of 4904.85 points. However, both indices limited their gains somewhat in the afternoon.

On the US stock markets, futures were little changed in pre-market trading after the leading US indices S&P 500 and Nasdaq had posted closing price records on Thursday. "Experts disagree on whether too much optimism or too much skepticism is driving up prices on the world's stock markets," Molnar continued. "Both are the case: only that the optimists already have the shares, while the pessimists grudgingly give in at every new record high, get in and thus fuel the rally."

Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at online broker CMC Markets, explained that the positive sentiment was fed by the latest US inflation data, which underpinned market expectations of an interest rate cut by the Fed in June. Investors are certain that the European Central Bank (ECB) will also begin to ease its monetary policy at this time. European inflation did fall in February, but not as much as hoped.

On the German stock market, investors flocked to Daimler Truck shares. With an increase of 18.4 percent at times, they rose more sharply than ever before to a record high of 44.72 euros. The commercial vehicle manufacturer achieved a record result last year thanks to price increases. Analysts at the bank JPMorgan also praised the "very strong outlook for 2024". Surprisingly strong full-year figures also encouraged investors to buy into Leonardo. Shares in the defense contractor rose by 4.7 percent in Milan and, at 20.68 euros, were more expensive than they had been almost 17 years ago. Analysts at Banca Akros highlighted the order intake and free operating cash flow as particularly encouraging. At competitor Rheinmetall, a major order put investors in a buying mood. The shares reached a record high of 433.80 euros.

Automotive supplier Valeo, on the other hand, lowered its sales target for 2025 due to weakening sales of electric vehicles. Valeo shares fell 3.6 percent to 10.33 euros in Paris as a result. The figures presented by the Volkswagen Group were also not well received. Europe's largest car manufacturer expects slower sales growth in 2024 compared to the previous year. The shares slipped by more than four percent. Shares in logistics group Kühne+Nagel (K+N) slumped by more than 14 percent in Zurich. Following the end of the coronavirus boom, the logistics group is cutting jobs and paying a lower dividend.

BITCOIN IN DEMAND AGAIN

Bitcoin also rose again. However, the oldest and most important cyber currency was initially unable to surpass its recent highs. It gained two percent to 62,699 dollars. However, the next attempt to jump above the previous record high of just under USD 69,000 is only a matter of time, said James Butterfill, chief analyst at CoinShares, an asset manager specializing in digital assets. This is because the newly approved listed Bitcoin funds (ETF) from the USA require 2,800 Bitcoin per day. However, only 900 new digital coins are added every day.

(Report by Anika Ross, Hakan Ersen; Edited by Hans Busemann; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).