European Markets Rebounded From Trump Related Weakness

(RTTNews) - The European markets bounced back from Thursday's weak performance and finished Friday's session firmly in positive territory. Pharmaceutical stocks recovered some ground following yesterday's pullback. Comments from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's press conference on Wednesday weighed on the sector on Thursday.

Shares of Fiat Chrysler also rebounded from yesterday's sharp decline. The stock sold-off after the U.S. EPA accused the company of diesel emissions violations.

Bank stocks also turned in a strong performance Friday after some of the largest U.S. banks reported better than expected quarterly results.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.91 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.15 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.85 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.94 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.20 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.62 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.92 percent.

In Frankfurt, Merck KGaA rose 2.22 percent after announcing a partnership with Palantir giving the later a cut of Merck's resulting profits.

Deutsche Bank climbed 3.81 percent and Commerzbank added 2.86 percent.

In Paris, media & entertainment firm Technicolor plunged 19.69 percent after issuing downbeat trading update for 2016.

Societe Generale advanced 3.48 percent and BNP Paribas gained 2.66 percent. Credit Agricole also finished higher by 3.88 percent.

In London, Mitchells & Butlers increased 1.88 percent after the pub operator reported strong festive period sales across all brands.

Grafton Group jumped 8.42 percent. In a trading update, the building materials and DIY group said its group revenue for the year to the end of December rose by 13 percent on a reported basis and by 10 percent in constant currencies.

ITV advanced 2.81 percent after Goldman Sachs upgraded its outlook for the media sector to "attractive" from "neutral".

Specialist building products distributor SIG soared 16.10 percent on reporting a 1.2 percent rise in group sales for the year to the end of December.

Fiat Chrysler climbed 4.61 percent in Milan, after tumbling as much as 16 percent the previous day as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused the company of using undeclared software to pass laboratory emissions tests.

Germany's wholesale prices increased at the fastest pace since late 2012, data from Destatis showed Friday. Wholesale prices increased 2.8 percent in December from prior year, the biggest rise since October 2012, when prices climbed 3.1 percent.

China exports declined more-than-expected at the end of the year on subdued global demand, while imports growth exceeded expectations, official data revealed Friday.

Exports fell 6.1 percent annually in December, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed, which was much faster than the 3.8 percent decline economists had expected.

On the other hand, imports climbed 3.1 percent, slightly faster than the forecast of 3 percent.

As a result, the trade surplus dropped unexpectedly to $40.8 billion in December from around $44.6 billion in November. The surplus was forecast to increase to $47.5 billion.

Retail sales in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in December after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in November.

Economists had expected retail sales to advance by 0.7 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

U.S. producer price growth came in line with economist estimates in the month of December, the Labor Department revealed in a report on Friday. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in December after climbing by 0.4 percent in November.

With consumer expectations seeing a slight deterioration, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday unexpectedly showing a modest drop in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of January. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index edged down to 98.1 in January from 98.2 in December. Economists had expected the index to rise to 98.5.

Reflecting rebounds in retail and wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. business inventories increased by more than expected in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.7 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October. Economists had expected inventories to rise by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop that had been reported for the previous month.