BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were moving higher on Friday as Chinese GDP numbers came in line with analyst estimates and Phil Hogan, the EU trade commissioner, said that U.S. threats to put tariffs on European autos did not come up during talks this week with American trade officials in Washington.
China's GDP data came in line with expectations and there was growth in industrial output and retail sales, suggesting the world's second-biggest economy ended the year on a firmer note.
In the whole year of 2019, China's gross domestic product grew 6.1 percent, which was well within the target of 6-6.5 percent.
Closer home, the euro area current account surplus declined in November from the previous month, the European Central Bank reported.
The current account surplus fell to EUR 34 billion from EUR 36 billion in October. However, the surplus was larger than the EUR 27 billion logged in November 2018.
The benchmark CAC 40 was up 48 points, or 0.8 percent, at 6,087 after inching up 0.1 percent in the previous session.
Trade-sensitive automakers were moving higher, with Renault up 2.3 percent and Peugeot gaining 1 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX