European Stocks Close Higher Again

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Friday, extending gains to yet another session with investors continuing to react positively to quarterly earnings announcements, and shrugging off concerns about soaring inflation, slowing growth and geopolitical tensions.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.74%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.47%, Germany's DAX surged up 0.84%, France's CAC 40 moved up 0.39% and Switzerland's SMI advanced 0.5%. The FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40, all posted modest losses in the month.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain and Sweden posted gains.

Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland and Poland drifted lower, while Portugal and Turkey ended flat.

In the UK market, Aveva Group rallied nearly 6%. Smurfit Kappa Group, Anglo American Plc, Mondi, Scottish Mortgage and Glencore gained 2.8 to 4.4%.

Sainsbury (J), Pearson, Entain, Dechra Pharmaceuticals, British Land, Smith (DS), St. James Place, ICP and HSBC Holdings moved up 1.5 to 2%.

Reckitt Benckiser moved higher after reporting a 2.3% revenue drop in the first quarter and warning of supply chain costs.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals plunged more than 7%. Vodafone Group drifted down 4.3%, while National Grid ended 2.57% down. Natwest Group ended sharply lower despite reporting a 41% jump in pre-tax profit in the first quarter.

Hargreaves Lansdown, Howden Joinery Group, Whitbread, Airtel Africa, Segro, Relx, United Utilities, BT Group and Lloyds Banking Group also closed weak.

In the French market, Renault, Faurecia, Valeo and Airbus Group gained 2 to 3%. Pernod Ricard, Legrand, Credit Agricole, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Accor, Danone and Saint Gobain moved up 1 to 1.8%.

Safran shed more than 2%. Sanofi, WorldLine, AXA and Vivendi also closed weak.

In Germany, Hello Fresh climbed nearly 6.5%. Puma surged 3.4%. Linde, Continental, Adidas, HeidelbergCement, Merck, Zalando, Porsche Automobil, Siemens, Brenntag and Bayer gained 1 to 2.7%.

Munich RE fell nearly 6%. Vonovia ended 3.5% down, while Henkel, Deutsche Wohnen, RWE and E.ON also declined sharply.

In economic news, the annual inflation rate in the Euro area rose to a fresh record high of 7.5% in April of 2022 from 7.4% in March, data from Eurostat showed.

Prelminary data from Eurostat showed the Euro area economy expanded by 0.2% on quarter in the first three months of 2022, the least since the bloc exited a recession last year. Year-on-year, the GDP expanded 5%, accelerating from an upwardly revised 4.7% increase in Q4.

France's gross domestic product was unchanged from the fourth quarter when the economy expanded 0.8%, revised from 0.7%, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed Friday. Economists were looking for 0.3% growth.

Germany's gross domestic product grew a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.2% from the fourth quarter, when the economy contracted 0.3%, preliminary figures from Destatis showed. Economists had forecast 0.1% growth.

UK house price inflation eased for the first time in six months in April, at a faster than expected pace, and the housing market is expected to slow in the coming months due to the high inflation that is putting pressure on household income and rising interest rates.

The house price index rose 12.1% year-on-year in April after a 12.3% increase in March, survey results from the Nationwide Building Society showed. Economists had forecast an easing to 12.6%. The latest inflation was the slowest in three months.

Retail sales adjusted for sales days and holidays declined a working-day adjusted 5.9% year-on-year in March in Switzerland, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 0.9% in March.