European ​shares rose to a more than two-week high on Friday, lifted by technology stocks with ‌investors optimistic about signs of progress in US-Iran peace talks despite both sides remaining at odds over key issues.Key disagreements between Tehran and Washington involve Iran’s uranium stockpile and controls on the Strait ​of Hormuz. DublinThe Irish market ended the week on an upbeat note, as big stocks made gains. The Euronext Dublin rose 1.6 per cent by the close of the session, bringing it to a gain of more than 5 per cent for the week. Bank of Ireland and AIB gained ground, adding 1.8 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively. Food group Glanbia was up 1 per cent, while Kerry Group’s gains were more muted at 0.2 per cent. Airline Ryanair surged almost 4 per cent, bringing its total gain to more than 14.5 per cent over the week. The company has seen its share price bounce back as fears over air fuel shortages eased.LondonUK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 ​index ended a four-week losing streak after data released this week weakened expectations of a Bank of England rate hike, giving relief to investors unsettled by political uncertainty.The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.22 per cent higher on Friday, ​notching a 2.66 per cent gain for the week. The midcap FTSE 250 closed up 0.96 per cent for the day.The FTSE 250 saw double-digit moves for Ceres Power, Bodycote and Softcat.Horsham-based clean energy technology developer Ceres Power shot up 21 per cent as UBS raised its share price target by 70 per cent to 970p from 570p.Bodycote soared 19 per cent as it became the latest UK-listed company to receive bid interest.EuropeThe pan-European STOXX 600 climbed 0.6 per cent to 624.50 points by 0801 GMT and was on track to end the week with significant ​gains.Semiconductor shares Infineon Technologies, STMicroelectronics, ASM International and ASML added between 2.5 per cent and 3.7 per cent.Cartier owner Richemont added 1.2 per cent after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue. The luxury index rose 0.5 per cent.Adidas and Puma climbed 2.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively, after US peer Deckers Outdoor’s upbeat forecast.German logistics giant DHL advanced 3.7 per cent after Deutsche Bank upgraded the ​stock to “buy” from “hold”.Meanwhile, Puig ​dropped almost 15 per cent after ⁠the Spanish perfumery ended merger talks with US cosmetics maker Estée Lauder.Julius Baer fell 9 per cent after the Swiss bank’s net new money inflows came in below expectations.New YorkWall Street’s main indexes rose on Friday ahead of a long weekend, with the blue-chip Dow hitting a record high for the first time ​since the Iran war began. The S&P 500 is on track for an eighth consecutive weekly gain, which would mark its best winning streak since December 2023.Most megacap and growth stocks traded higher, with Apple up 2 per cent, hitting a market capitalisation of more than $4.5 trillion (€3.8 trillion) for the first time.Semiconductor stocks, a ​key driver of recent Wall Street gains, were broadly up with the Philadelphia chip index rising 2.4 per cent. Qualcomm led the pack with a 12 per cent jump.PC makers Dell Technologies and HP Inc surged over ⁠15 per cent each after China’s Lenovo Group reported a better-than-expected 27 per cent jump in quarterly revenue.By late morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.59 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 50,697.24, the S&P 500 gained 48.08 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 7,493.79 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 174.66 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 26,467.76. – Additional reporting: Reuters, PA