BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Friday's session with modest gains, extending their recent recovery. After posting gains in the first few hours of trade, the markets settled into a sideways pattern for the rest of the session.
Traders across the pond have been keeping a close eye on the U.S. markets in recent days. The European markets have been following Wall Street's lead, recovering lost ground as investors begin to get more comfortable with rising bond yields and the potential for rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
The trading action at the end of the week was driven largely by the positive reaction among investors to a batch of encouraging earnings reports.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 1.09 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 1.09 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.10 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed 0.86 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 1.13 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.83 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.77 percent.
In Frankfurt, insurer Allianz gained 0.50 percent. The company raised dividend for 2017 despite reporting a 22 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profit, hit by a weak U.S. dollar and one-off costs.
In Paris, automaker Renault rallied 2.05 percent after it posted record sales and earnings for 2017.
Utility EDF jumped 4.64 percent after its net income for fiscal year 2017 increased 11.3 percent, reflecting positive effect of the capital gain recorded for the sale of 49.9 percent of CTE.
Food company Danone rose 2.14 percent after its full-year net income, Group share, rose 42.6 percent.
Air France-KLM sank 6.36 percent as it posted net loss of 977 million euros for the fourth quarter, compared to net income of 362 million euros in the same quarter last year, hit by a non-current expense linked to the de-recognition of pension assets in the Group's balance sheet.
Vivendi tumbled 6.04 percent. The media company reported full year adjusted net income of 1.312 billion euros or 1.01 euro per share, up from 755 million euros or 0.54 euro per share last year.
In London, infrastructure construction firm Balfour Beatty advanced 2.60 percent. The company has been awarded, in joint venture, a $1.95 billion or 1.4 billion pounds design, build, finance, operate and maintain contract for the 'Automated People Mover' at Los Angeles International Airport.
Industrial profit company Segro climbed 6.48 percent after reporting a rise in FY17 profit and lifting final dividend.
Norsk Hydro advanced 1.69 percent in Oslo. The aluminum producer's fourth-quarter core earnings came in below forecasts due to one-off costs.
Germany's wholesale price inflation accelerated slightly in January, after easing in the previous three months, data from Destatis showed Friday. Wholesale prices climbed 2.0 percent year-over-year in January, faster than the 1.8 percent rise in December.
UK retail sales grew less than expected in January as high inflation squeezed consumer spending, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Retail sales rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in January, reversing a 1.4 percent drop in December. Nonetheless, this was slower than the expected 0.5 percent rise.
Import prices in the U.S. jumped by more than expected in the month of January, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday, while export price growth also exceeded estimates. The Labor Department said import prices surged up by 1.0 percent in January after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in December.
Economists had expected import prices to climb by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said export prices increased by 0.8 percent in January after inching up by a revised 0.1 percent in December. Export prices had been expected to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
After reporting a steep drop in new residential construction in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing housing starts in the U.S. rebounded by much more than anticipated in the month of January.
The Commerce Department said housing starts soared by 9.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.326 million in January after tumbling by 6.9 percent to a revised 1.209 million in December. Economists had expected housing starts to climb by 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.234 million from the 1.192 million originally reported for the previous month.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, also surged up by 7.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.396 million in January from the revised December rate of 1.300 million.
Despite recent volatility on Wall Street, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday unexpectedly showing a significant improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of February. The preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for February came in at 99.9, up from the final January reading of 95.7. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 95.5.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX