UPDATE 2-European shares log fifth week of gains, Novo Nordisk shines

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By Susan Mathew and Sruthi Shankar
Sept 20 (Reuters) - European stocks clocked their fifth
straight week of gains on Friday with investors buying into the
oil and gas and banking sectors, and Novo Nordisk rising after
U.S. approval of its oral diabetes drug.
Investors also sought refuge in the so-called defensive
sectors such as utilities .SX6P , real-estate .SX86P and food
and beverages .SX3P ahead of a week packed with economic data.
The United Nations (UN) general assembly will also provide
clues on the fallout from attacks on Saudi oil facilities last
weekend and indications of a potential meeting between the
presidents of Iran and the United States. "After (the general assembly) things may become more
uncertain, so that could explain the moves into defensive
stocks," said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist at
Rabobank.
"Markets are basically keeping their gunpowder dry for
afterwards when there is certainty about where things are
headed."
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed up 0.3% in
a volatile session, taking weekly gains to 0.3%.
Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO rose 2.6% after the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration approved an oral version of its diabetes
drug, semaglutide. Global equity markets were spooked at the start of the week
by the Saudi attacks that sent oil prices soaring and fanned
geopolitical concerns. But cues of further monetary stimulus by
central banks around the world calmed investor nerves later in
the week.
The oil and gas sector .SXEP gained 3.4% in the week - its
biggest weekly increase in four months. O/R
Retailers also led the benchmark STOXX 600 higher, with
shares of Casino CASP.PA up 3.8% after the debt-laden company
said it was in talks to sell its discount store chain, Leader
Price, to German rival Aldi.
Friday's volatility also stemmed from "quadruple witching",
where investors unwound positions in futures and options
contracts before they expired.
In the week ahead, investors will also be watching for
economic data from the euro zone and the United States,
including preliminary PMIs and economic growth figures.
Shares in some of the biggest outperformers this year were
weighing on the STOXX 600. Airbus AIR.PA , up 43% so far this
year, was down 3.2%, and steady dividend-paying companies
including Unilever ULVR.L and British American Tobacco
BATS.L were down at least 1.5%.
The London-listed of these companies pushed the FTSE 100
.FTSE down 0.2%. It ended the week 0.3% lower, breaking a
three-week streak of gains.
The past few weeks saw investors rotate out of growth
sectors and into value stocks, with beaten-down shares of banks
in popular demand. However, the European banking index .SX7P
closed the week down 1% as investors went back into the safety
sectors.
Shares in Denmark's Jyske Bank JYSK.CO jumped 5.3% to the
top of the STOXX 600 after the lender said people with more than
$111,100 in their accounts would be charged a deposit rate as it
seeks to pass on some of the costs of recent rate cuts by the
European and Danish central banks.