Europe stocks higher to round off winning week; Sterling gains after slew of UK data

Europe stocks higher to round off winning week; Sterling gains after slew of UK data


A balcony above a trading floor inside the Euronext NV stock exchange in Paris, France, on Monday, March 13, 2023. 

Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON — European markets were higher Friday, rounding off what’s set to be a winning week for global stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2% at 8:38 a.m. London time, led by autos stocks, up 1.1%.

The regional benchmark is up more than 2% so far this week, putting it on course for its best performance since May 10.

U.S. stocks have also posted solid gains, with a big boost coming Thursday when weekly jobless claims fell and U.S. retail sales data was much stronger than forecasts had suggested.

That further signaled to investors that the jitters over a U.S. recession, which contributed to the sharp global sell-off at the start of the month, are overblown. Along with ripple effects from Japanese monetary policy, analysts say part of the volatility may be explained by a historical August trend, when trade tends to be more shallow.

The Stoxx 600 and Wall Street’s S&P 500 remain shy of the levels they started the month at, but steady gains through the week have recuperated losses from the recent rout.

On the data front on Friday, U.K. retail sales showed a rebound from a 0.9% decline in June to 0.5% growth in July, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll. Sales volumes were up 1.1% in the three months to July.

Alex Kerr, U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said in a note Friday that the retail uptick was not broad-based, with sectors such as food, clothing and household goods struggling.

“We continue to think that rising real incomes, as inflation falls, should mean consumer spending growth accelerates over the rest of this year,” Kerr said.



Source

Asia-Pacific stocks trade lower as investors weigh recent trade developments
World

Asia-Pacific stocks trade lower as investors weigh recent trade developments

Asia markets start Friday trading in the red Asia markets started the trading day lower. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.24%, while the Topix lost 0.55%. South Korea’s Kospi was flat and the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.48%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.41%. —Lee Ying Shan Asia markets set to open lower Good morning from Singapore. Asia markets were […]

Read More
Top Europe banks warn of euro strength, ‘wait-and-see’ market amid U.S. tariffs
World

Top Europe banks warn of euro strength, ‘wait-and-see’ market amid U.S. tariffs

Some of Europe’s top banks have sounded alarm bells over the strength of the euro and outlined how U.S. tariffs have reshaped the investment landscape in the second quarter. Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit beat but noted, across the board, the effects of the relative strength of the euro […]

Read More
Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500, Nasdaq score another record close: Live updates
World

Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500, Nasdaq score another record close: Live updates

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., July 24, 2025. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Stock futures were relatively unchanged on Thursday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached another record closing high. S&P 500 futures traded up 0.1%, along with Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures […]

Read More