European stocks close higher; FTSE hits all-time high after M&A talk

European stock markets closed higher Friday, cheered by stronger than expected growth data from China, as well as merger talk in the important mining sector.

At 11:30 ET (16:30 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 1.3%, the CAC 40 in France gained over 1% and the FTSE 100 in the UK surged 1.4%, climbing to an all-time high. Chinese growth helps sentiment

China's economy grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to data released earlier Friday, significantly beating analysts' expectations and marking the quickest growth since the second quarter of 2023.

For the full-year 2024, the world's second-largest economy grew 5.0%, meeting the government's annual growth target of around 5%. A

China is a major export market for Europe’s senior companies, and its economic slowdown has been a drag on growth this year.

Back in Europe, British retail sales fell unexpectedly in December, dropping 0.3% in month-on-month terms in December after a downwardly revised 0.1% expansion in November.

"This was driven by a very poor month for food sales, which sank to their lowest level since 2013, with supermarkets particularly affected," ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said. Miners rise on M&A talk

In corporate news, the mining sector surged following a Bloomberg report indicating Glencore (LON:GLEN ) had been in talks with Rio Tinto (LON:RIO ) to explore the industry’s largest ever merger.

While the talks are reportedly no longer active, they have ramped up speculation that M&A could be possible in this heavily weighted sector, prompting buying in both stocks.

Elsewhere, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN ) stock rose 0.05% after the drugs giant said that the US FDA had approved its drug to treat previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma in adults who cannot have a stem cell transplant.

Across the pond, State Street (NYSE:STT ) reported fourth quarter EPS of $2.60, $0.24 better than the analyst estimate of $2.36 and Citizens Financial (NYSE:CFG ) Group reported an EPS of $0.85, better than the analyst estimate of $0.82.  Crude set for weekly gain

Oil prices fell Friday, after gaining in the day, heading towards a fourth consecutive weekly gain with the latest US sanctions on the Russian crude trade continuing to offer support.

By 11:30 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) fell 0.6% to $77.35 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.5% to $80.95 a barrel.

Both contracts have gained around 3% so far this week.

The Biden administration last week announced widening sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, likely resulting in supply disruptions and price increases.

 

Source: Investing.com