BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets ended mostly higher on Friday as bargain hunting after the massive sell-off in the previous session pushed up prices of several key stocks from across various sectors.
However, amid lingering worries about global economic outlook and fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections rendered the mood cautious, prompting investors to exit counters at higher levels.
The pan European Stoxx 600 moved up 0.28%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 advanced 0.47% and France's CAC 40 climbed up 0.49%, while Germany's DAX and Switzerland's SMI lost 0.18% and 0.33%, respectively.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway and Turkey closed higher, while Poland and Russia settled notably lower. Denmark, Portugal and Spain ended flat.
Bloomberg reported that British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair launched legal action against the British government's quarantine rules, and want the government to re-adopt its previous quarantine policy introduced on March 10th, where quarantine was limited to passengers from 'high risk' countries.
In the U.K. market, shares of travel-related companies rose sharply after airlines launched legal action against the government's quarantine rules for inbound travelers.
Pearson soared nearly 12% after a regulatory filing revealed activist investment firm Cevian Capital has built a stake in the education company.
Centrica, Melrose, Easyjet, Carnival, IAG, Informa and Land Securities gained 4.5 to 8.4%.
ITV, Standard Chartered, Anglo American, Whitbread, Johnson Matthey, Burberry Group, Fresnillo and Tui ended higher by 2 to 3.5%.
In the German market, Thyssenkrupp ended stronger by about 7.75%. Lufthansa gained 3%, while Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Wirecard, Bayer and Volkswagen moved up 1 to 2%.
Adidas, Fresenius Medical Care and Merck ended lower by 1.6 to 1.8%. SAP ended nearly 1% down.
In France, Cap Gemini, Peugeot, ArcelorMittal, Unibail Rodamco, Societe Generale and Renault gained 3 to 4.3%. Sodex and Publicis Groupe advanced by 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively.
In economic news, data from Eurostat showed industrial output in Eurozone decreased 17.1% on a monthly basis in April, following an 11.9% drop in March. Production was expected to decline 20%. This was the largest monthly fall recorded since the start of the series and bigger than the reductions seen during the global financial crisis.
On a yearly basis, industrial production fell by a record 28% in April after easing 13.5% in March. Economists had expected a 29.5% fall.
According to the data released by the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy contracted in April at the fastest pace since the series began in 1997. The data showed the country's GDP contracted 20.4% in April from March, when it was down 5.8%. GDP was forecast to fall 18.4%. In three months to April, GDP decreased 10.4%, slightly faster than the expected fall of 10%.
The services sector reported a record monthly fall of 19% in April versus a 6.2% decrease a month ago. Industrial output declined by a record 20.3% in April from the previous month, with manufacturing providing the biggest downward contribution, falling by a record 24.3%.
On a yearly basis, the decline in industrial production deepened to 24.4% from 8.2%. Likewise, manufacturing output was down 28.5% versus a 9.7% decrease a month ago.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX