The European stock market traded higher on Friday, ending a volatile week on a positive note as investors continue to digest the prospect of tighter monetary policy, new sanctions on Russia and potential political turmoil in France.

By 03:50am ET (07:50 GMT), Germany’s DAX index was trading 1.4% higher, France’s CAC 40 was up 1.5% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1%.

Despite these gains, European stock indices end the week broadly lower, with the DAX down about 1.2%, the CAC 40 down 1.9%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 blue-chip index down 1.6%.

The prospect of decisive interest rate hikes around the world alarmed investors this week when the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it was ready to act faster than previously thought to curb runaway inflation.

According to a report on the bank’s March meeting released Thursday, European Central Bank officials have a less hawkish sentiment, but still appear eager to wind down stimulus.

The U.N. General Assembly suspended Russia from membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council.

The U.S. Congress also stripped Russia of its “most favored nation” status in trade, while the European Union decided to ban imports of Russian coal, and sanctions for the first time, targeted Russia’s crucial energy revenues.

Also in focus is the risk of political turmoil in France, as far-right leader Marine Le Pen has come very close to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in opinion polls ahead of the first round of the French presidential election this Sunday.

In corporate news, Volvo shares fell 1% after the Swedish truck maker set aside 4 billion kronor ($423.2 million) in provisions, expecting its first-quarter operating profit to suffer due to uncertainty caused by the conflict in Ukraine.

Shares in Banco Bpm SpA (LON:0RLA) Bpm rose more than 14% after French bank Credit Agricole (PA:CAGR) SA, whose shares rose 0.7%, said it would buy a 9.2% stake in Italy’s third-largest lender.

Oil prices rose on Friday but are still close to a weekly loss of about 3%, driven by a decision by several major consuming countries to release huge amounts of crude from their emergency reserves, as well as a worsening demand outlook in China as the COVID-19 outbreak there continues.

International Energy Agency member countries announced earlier this week that they would release 60 million barrels of oil, on top of the 180 million barrels announced by the United States last week, while China’s COVID-19 outbreak appears to be worsening, with the number of new cases topping 21,000 on Thursday.

By 03:50 a.m. ET (08:50 GMT), WTI crude futures were trading higher by 0.8% at $96.84 a barrel, having lost 3% this week, while the Brent contract was up 0.7% to $101.30, down 3.5% for the week.

In addition, gold futures fell 0.3% to $1932.20 an ounce, while EUR/USD declined 0.2% to 1.0858.