European stocks rise as UK growth data adds to positive sentiment

Investing.com - European stock markets rose Friday, as stronger-than-expected U.K. growth data added to the wider positive sentiment.

At 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.4% higher, the CAC 40 in France traded 0.5% higher, while the FTSE 100 in the U.K. climbed 0.4%.

Britain exits recession in first quarter

European markets are ending the week on a positive note, with renewed hopes for rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve bolstering market sentiment.

Adding to the optimism, data released earlier Friday showed that Britain's economy grew by a relatively healthy 0.6% in the first three months of 2024, above the expected 0.4%, ending the shallow recession it entered in the second half of last year.

On a monthly basis, the economy grew by 0.4% in March, faster than the expected 0.1% growth.

The Bank of England held interest rates at a 16-year high on Thursday, but two of the nine person committee that decides the appropriate level for rates voted to cut, as the bank took another step towards lowering interest rates.

Money market traders see around a 45% chance of a rate cut at next month's policy meeting, while around 58 basis points of easing are priced in by the year end.

The European Central Bank publishes the account of its last monetary policy meeting later in the session. 

The central bank has already signaled a rate cut is coming in June, and investors will be looking to see if there are any clues of the timing of further cuts as the year progresses.

IAG confident for peak summer season

Turning to the corporate sector, IAG (BME:ICAG) stock rose 2% after the airline group reported operating profit for the first quarter of €68 million, up sharply from €9 million in the same part of last year.

The parent of British Airways, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, also reported a sharp rise in first-quarter revenue, adding it is ready for the peak summer travel season.

Mediobanca (OTC:MDIBY) stock rose 3% after the Italian lender reported a 42% jump in net profit in the January-March period on an annual basis, adding it would pay E421 million as an interim dividend this month.

Crude set for positive week

Crude prices rose Friday, on track for a weekly gain, after this week’s data from the U.S. and China, the world's two largest crude users, pointed to higher demand. 

By 03:05 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.9% higher at $79.94 per barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.7% to $84.50 per barrel.

Both contracts were set to gain about 2% each this week after suffering steep losses the prior week.

Stronger-than-expected overall import data from China, the world’s biggest oil importer, coupled with a fall in U.S. crude inventories, has raised hope that global oil demand was improving.

Additionally, gold futures rose 1.5% to $2,376.40/oz, while EUR/USD traded flat at 1.0782.