Long-suffering investors in European stocks have something to celebrate, with the region’s benchmark equity index hitting its first record in more than four years thanks in part to the lifting of geopolitical clouds. The Stoxx Europe 600 index, which tracks companies across the continent and in the U.K., has climbed about 24% year to date, putting it on track for its best performance in a decade. On Friday, investors’ optimism that the U.K. would proceed with Brexit and the U.S. might halt its trade war with China helped the...

Source: Wall Street Journal December 16, 2019 16:16 UTC