European stocks closed higher on Friday, with regional markets reopening after being closed for the Christmas holiday.
Pan-European Stokes 600 The index ended the session provisionally 0.6% higher, with most major sectors and markets remaining in positive territory. The index rose by 0.89% during the week after two weeks of decline.
Healthcare stocks were among those that saw gains on Friday, with the sector up 2% to Novo Nordisk’s share price. The Danish pharmaceutical giant has continued its recovery from a major sell-off that saw its shares fall 20% in a single session last week.
Shares of the oil tanker company Frontline also strengthened on Friday, closing up 2.5%. This comes at a time when oil prices are heading for weekly gains, and the World Bank has revised economic growth forecasts for China, the world’s largest oil importer, amid pledges of more financial stimulus from Beijing.
The shares of the Norwegian oil and gas company Far Energy also rose in the STOXX 600 index after adding 3%, while the shares of the Finnish fuel production company Neste topped the index with gains of 5.7%.
Meanwhile, Swedish online gambling company Evolution saw gains of 3.7%, recovering from losses seen earlier this week after the company was placed under review by the UK Gambling Commission over links with unlicensed operators.
At the other end of the index, Delivery hero It fell 5.4% after Taiwan’s antitrust watchdog on Wednesday blocked Uber’s $950 million bid to acquire the company’s Foodpanda business.
Elsewhere, investors are monitoring economic data out of China, where official figures showed industrial profits in the world’s second-largest economy contracting for the fourth straight month in November.
The printing of the data came a day after the World Bank raised its growth forecasts for China in 2024 and 2025, but warned that the country’s economy would remain under pressure, given weak business confidence and continued uncertainty in China’s troubled real estate sector.
Markets were in mixed territory overnight in Asia, as traders reacted to the latest Chinese data, as well as the latest inflation numbers from Japan. In an update on Friday, official figures showed core inflation in Tokyo reached 3% in November, up from 2.6% in October.
In the United States, stocks fell on Friday, giving up most of the gains they made in the holiday-shortened week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 430 points, falling for the first time in six sessions. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 1.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2%.
Back in Europe, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved the country’s parliament on Friday to pave the way for elections in February, after the overthrow of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government earlier this month. Return to Germany 10 years of the Bund Shares rose 5 basis points at 1:36 pm in London, reaching 2.384%, their highest level in a month.
