European Stocks Up Firmly In Positive Territory

European stocks are up in positive territory on Friday, with the French market outperforming its peers thanks to widespread buying thanks to data showing a jump in consumer confidence in January. Signs of cooling inflation in the euro area contribute as well to the firm undertone in European markets.

Investors are looking ahead to the PCE inflation data from U.S. due later in the day for further cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory,

The pan European Stoxx 600 is up 0.94%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is gaining 1.23%, Germany’s DAX is up 0.17%, and France’s CAC 40 is up as much as 2.1%. Switzerland’s SMI is advancing nearly 1.5%.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye are all up in positive territory, while Iceland and Poland are trading weak.

Strong fourth-quarter sales from LVMH has triggered hectic buying in the luxury sector across European markets. Shares from the banking sector are also faring well.

Among the top gainers in the UK market, Croda International and Diageo are climbing up 4.5% and 4.3%, respectively. St. James’s Place is rising 3.5% and Burberry Group is up nearly 3%.

Barclays Group, Rentokil Initial, Prudential, Ocado Group, Natwest Group, Smurfit Kappa, Entain, Reckitt Benckiser, Lloyds Banking, Unilever, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Standard Chartered, Fresnillo, AstraZeneca, RightMove and DS Smith are advancing 1.4 to 2.5%.

J Sainsbury is declining 1.7%. Tesco and BAE Systems are lower by about 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively.

In Germany, Sartorius is surging more than 7%. Merck is gaining about 5.5% and Porsche is up 3.1%. Brenntag, Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius Medical Care, Puma, BASF, Covestro, Fresenius and Siemens Healthineers are up 1.5 to 2.1%.

Bayer is down more than 2%. Deutsche Telekom, MTU Aero Engines, SAP and Infineon are down 0.8 to 1.4%.

In the French market, LVMH is soaring nearly 11% after the company reported a 10% jump in fourth-quarter sales. Pernod Ricard is gaining 7% and Kering is up 4.7%.

Hermes International, Alstom, Teleperformance, L’Oreal, Saint Gobain, TotalEnergies and Carrefour are up 1.5 to 3.3%.

STMicroElectronics is down 2.8% and Worldline is down with a loss of about 2.7%.

Data released earlier in the day showed the GfK Consumer Climate Indicator dropping to -29.7 in February, versus a revised -25.4 in the previous month and missing the market consensus of -24.5. The reading is also the lowest in 11 months.

Data released earlier in the day by INSEE had showed the Consumer Confidence indicator for France rising to 91 in January, versus previous month’s reading of 89. Markets had expected a reading of 90.

Inflation expectations for the euro area were downgraded for this year and next on oil prices, weaker economic activity and lower out-turn of actual inflation figures, the Survey of Professional Forecasters from the European Central Bank showed.

Headline inflation for this year was lowered to 2.4% from 2.7% and that for next year to 2% from 2.1%. Inflation was forecast to remain unchanged at 2% in 2026. Longer-term expectations for headline HICP inflation were revised down to 2%.