BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed higher on Friday, with several markets hitting fresh record highs, as investors reacted to some positive economic data and earnings updates, and continued to remain optimistic about interest rate cuts by central banks in the coming months.
Bank of England's dovish rate decision on Thursday and better-than-expected U.K. GDP growth data released earlier today boosted investor sentiment.
The Bank of England held interest rates steady on Thursday but signaled it will cut rates this summer if inflation stays low.
Preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy exited a technical recession in the first quarter with the economic output growing better than expected led by a rebound in the services output and household spending.
The report showed gross domestic product grew 0.6% from the fourth quarter, when the economy shrunk 0.3%. Output had declined 0.1% in the third quarter last year. Economists had expected the first quarter growth to come in at 0.4%.
GDP rose 0.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, beating expectations for stagnation.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.77%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.63%, Germany's DAX ended up by 0.46% and France's CAC 40 closed higher by 0.48%, while Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 1.31%. The FTSE 100 gained more than 2.5% in the week, while DAX and CAC 40 gained about 4.3% and 3.4%, respectively, in the week.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.
Poland and Turkiye ended weak.
In the UK market, St. James's Place, Spirax-Sarco Engineering, Glencore, Standard Chartered, B&M European Value Retail, Vodafone Group, Prudential, WPP, IMI, Experian, Berkeley Group Holdings, Howden Joinery and Smiths Group gained 1.5 to 3.2%.
RightMove dropped about 5.5%. Rolls-Royce Holdings ended down 2.37%. Land Securities, Unite Group, Ocado Group, Intertek Group and Scottish Mortgage lost 1 to 2%.
In the German market, Siemens Energy, Fresenius Medical Care, Munich RE, HeidelbergCement, Siemens and Fresenius climbed 2.3 to 4.2%.
Zalando gained 3.3% as Berenberg upgraded its rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold.' RWE, Hannover Rueck, Deutsche Post, Qiagen and Beiersdorf also ended notably higher.
Puma ended lower by about 3%. BASF, Symrise, Covestro, Sartorius and SAP also closed notably lower.
In the French market, Teleperformance rallied nearly 4%. Legrand, Societe Generale, Accor, Publics Groupe, Schneider Electric, Edenred and Sanofi gained 1.2 to 3%.
STMicroElectronics and Airbus Group ended sharply lower.
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