BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks advanced on Thursday as the risk that Britain will crash out of the EU without an agreement on March 29 has receded and investors reacted cautiously to mixed data from China.
British MPS will vote today on delaying Brexit after they rejected the idea of leaving the EU without a deal.
Growth in China's industrial output fell to a 17-year low in the first two months of the year, but retail sales and fixed asset investment data topped forecasts, leaving investors wondering about the impact of tariffs.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 39 points or 0.74 percent at 5,345 in opening deals after gaining 0.7 percent on Wednesday.
In corporate news, Retailer Casino Group dropped 1.3 percent after it reported a net loss for the full year of 54 million euros, compared to a year-ago net profit of 101 million euros.
Automakers Renault and Peugeot were up more than 1 percent as the euro paused after four straight sessions of gains.
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