European Stocks Close Higher Again On Economic Optimism

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Friday, gaining for a third successive session, as soft consumer price and producer price inflation data from the U.S. continued to support sentiment.

A report showing a stronger than expected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of July, and data showing Euro zone industrial production in June grew three times more than expected contributed as well to the positive mood in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.47% up, Germany's DAX climbed 0.74% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.14%, while Switzerland's SMI shed 0.24%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal ended weak, while Austria, Finland and Turkiye ended flat.

In the UK market, Flutter Entertainment soared 14.1%. Despite posting lower first-half earnings, the world's largest online betting firm said it expects a turnaround in the second half of the year.

Mondi climbed 11.2% after the company agreed to sell its Russian business for $1.56 billion.

Entain, GSK, Centrica, Haleon, Natwest Group and AstraZeneca gained 1.9 to 4.1%.

Kingfisher, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Antofagasta, JD Sports Fashion, Scottish Mortgage, BAE Systems, Anglo American Plc, M&G and Coca-Cola HBC lost 1 to 3%.

In the German market, Bayer rallied more than 4.5%. Covestro, Deutsche Bank, HelloFresh, E.ON, Continental, Siemens, Vonovia, Deutsche Wohnen, BASF and Munich RE gained 1.5 to 2.5%.

Deutsche Boerse drifted down more than 3%. Merck, Porsche Automobil, Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom lost 1 to 2%.

In Paris, Veolia, BNP Paribas, Unibail Rodamco, Sodexo, Societe Generale, Accor, Sanofi, Renault and Schneider Electric gained 1 to 2%.

Thales, ArcelorMittal and Danone ended sharply lower.

In the Swiss market, Roche gained more than 1.5%. The drug maker announced it has received approval from the U.S. FDA for its Xofluza drug to treat influenza in children.

In economic news, Eurozone industrial production growth slowed in June on weak consumer goods output, data published by Eurostat showed.

Industrial output gained 0.7% from May, when it advanced 2.1%. However, this was faster than the expected growth of 0.2%. On a yearly basis, growth in industrial output accelerated to 2.4% from 1.6% in May, while the rate was forecast to slow to 0.8%.

The UK economy logged only a marginal contraction in the second quarter despite the challenges posed by the rising interest rates and high inflation that is squeezing real income.

Gross domestic product shrank 0.1% from the first quarter, when output had advanced 0.8%, the Office for National Statistics said. Nonetheless, the pace of contraction was slower than the 0.2% drop expected by economists.

France's consumer price inflation accelerated as initially estimated July, rising to a new record high of 6.1% in the month from 5.8% in June, latest data from the statistical office Insee showed. That was in line with flash data published on July 29.

France's unemployment rate increased unexpectedly in the June quarter, though slightly, data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The ILO jobless rate stood at 7.4% in the second quarter versus 7.3% in the March quarter. Meanwhile, economists had forecast the rate to remain stable at 7.3%.

The jobless rate decreased by 0.5% over the year and stood 0.8 points below its pre-crisis level of 8.2% in the fourth quarter of 2019, the statistical office said.