BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed on a positive note on Friday amid optimism about the outlook for Fed interest rates after soft U.S. consumer price inflation data, and slightly dovish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell during his congressional testimony earlier in the week.
Optimism about quarterly earnings, and a couple of encouraging economic data from the European region contributed as well to the positive sentiment in the markets.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.88%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.36%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 1.15% and 1.27%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI closed 0.89% up.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher, while Russia ended weak.
In the UK market, RightMove rallied 4%. Spirax Group, Frasers Group, Next, Marks & Spencer, Antofagasta, Howden Joinery, Croda International, Taylor Wimpey, Vistry Group, Intertek Group, Associated British Foods, Experian, IMI, Weir Group, Kingfisher, Tesco, JD Sports Fashion Group, AstraZeneca and Entain gained 1.2 to 3%.
United Utilities dropped 3.4%. Endeavour Mining, Rentokil Initial, Severn Trent, Centrica, Airtel Africa and Prudential ended down 1 to 2.3%.
In the German market, MTU Aero Engines, Puma, Siemens, HeidelbergCement, Infineon, Adidas, Deutsche Boerse and Daimler Truck Holding gained 2 to 3.5%.
Zalando, Volkswagen, SAP, Henkel, BMW, Deutsche Post, Bayer, BASF, Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius Medical Care and Allianz ended higher by 1 to 3.5%.
In the French market, Hermes International, ArcelorMittal, Capgemini, Legrand, Kering, Schneider Electric, LVMH, L'Oreal, Essilor, Dassault Systemes, Air Liquide, Michelin, Societe Generale and STMicroElectronics gained 1.4 to 3%.
Shares of Swedish telecom company LM Ericsson climbed nearly 4.5% after EBITA, a key earnings metric, beat analysts' expectations in the second quarter.
Similarly, Lifco AB soared almost 10% after posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Aker Solutions ASA zoomed 18% after the Norwegian company's second-quarter profit beat expectations.
On the economic front, Germany's wholesale prices continued to fall in June but the pace of decline slowed further, Destatis reported.
Wholesale prices posted an annual decline of 0.6% in June, following a 0.7% drop in May. The current sequence of fall in wholesale prices started in May 2023.
On a monthly basis, wholesale prices decreased 0.3% in June, in contrast to the 0.1% increase in May. This was the fourth consecutive fall.
France's consumer price inflation increased slightly more than estimated in June, final data from the statistical office INSEE showed. The consumer price index grew 2.2% year-over-year in June, following a 2.3% rise in the previous month. The rate was slightly faster than the initial estimate of 2.1%.
Core inflation rose slightly to 1.8% from 1.7% in May, data showed. Month-on-month, overall consumer prices edged up 0.1%, in line with the flash estimate, after remaining flat in May.
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