Stock Market

The European market rose on Friday

On Friday, European stocks traded higher on stronger-than-expected growth in the UK economy as a turbulent quarter in which central banks hiked interest rates comes to an end.

By 3:45 AM ET (0745 GMT), the DAX in Germany was up 1%, the CAC 40 in France was up 0.8% and the FTSE 100 in the UK was up 0.4%.

In the second quarter, UK GDP rose 0.2%, an unexpected improvement from a previous estimate of a 0.1% fall, meaning a summer recession was averted despite the cost-of-living crisis.

At the same time, French inflation slowed unexpectedly in September as consumer prices in the eurozone’s second-largest economy rose 6.2% from September last year and from 6.6% in August.

The release of CPI data for the euro area as a whole is due on Friday and is likely to show inflation accelerating to a record high of 9.7%, which will increase pressure on the European Central Bank to continue decisive tightening of monetary policy.

Stocks have struggled this quarter, with the underlying STOXX 600 down about 5% between July and September, marking its third consecutive quarterly decline and its longest losing streak since 2011.

Official data out of China this morning showed that the country’s manufacturing index rose unexpectedly in September, breaking 2 consecutive months of declines, but a separate private survey from Caixin painted a very different picture: the country’s manufacturing PMI dropped from 49.5 in August to 48. ,1 in September.

Read also:  US stocks closed lower, Dow Jones down 0.32%

Also today, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to hold an inauguration ceremony in the Kremlin for 4 new regions that recently voted to join Russia in a referendum.

The US and European Union are set to impose additional sanctions on Russia in connection with the move, and EU energy ministers are due to meet on Friday to discuss options.

In corporate news, Webuild (BIT:WBD) shares rose 2% after the Italian construction company said it expects its full-year commercial results to be well above expectations.

Oil prices rose on Friday, but their first quarterly fall in 2 years is expected in the near future amid ongoing concerns about a slowdown in the global economy.

The last meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, OPEC+, will take place next week amid speculation that the group will agree to cut oil production to support falling prices.

By 3:45 am ET, WTI futures traded 0.8% higher at $81.91 a barrel, while Brent contract rose 0.9% to $88.00.

In addition, gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,679.40 an ounce, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 0.9825.

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