BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed broadly higher on Friday with stocks from several sectors finding fairly good support ahead of quarterly earnings updates due from early next week. Although higher oil prices weighed a bit, easing concerns about interest rates and AI-related investments rendered the mood positive.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's comments defending the financial health of AI computing supplier CoreWeave Inc. aided sentiment.
Defense stocks found support as European leaders gathered in Brussels to reaffirm their support for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.amidst the escalating conflict in Ukraine.
The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.72%. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.38%, Germany's DAX jumped 0.95% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.28% up. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 0.29%. FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 all posted gains for the week.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed higher.
The Russian market declined sharply, while Belgium edged down marginally.
In the UK market, Babcock International climbed 3.6%. WPP, Kingfisher, Weir, BAE Systems, AutoTrader Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, British American Tobacco and National Grid gained 2%-3.1%.
Ithaca Energy gained more than 1%. The British oil and gas firm announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Luciano Vasques is set to retire by March 31, 2027.
Balfour Beatty, Diageo, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Imperial Brands, Fresnillo, Endeavour Mining, Reckitt Benckiser, Standard Life, JD Sports Fashion and Pearson rallied 1.5%-2%.
Scottish Mortgage dropped 3.1%. AstraZeneca and Polar Technology Trust ended down 2% and 1.8%, respectively. Natwest Group, British Land, Computacenter, Segro and The Sage Group closed lower by 1%-1.2%.
In the German market, Rheinmetall rallied more than 6.5%. BMW moved up 3.5%. Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius and Volkswagen gained 2.7%-3%.
Siemens Energy, RWE, E.ON, Daimler Truck Holding, Porsche Automobil Holding, Heidelberg Materials, Zalando, Henkel, Siemens Healthineers, Deutsche Boerse, Scout24, Deutsche Telekom, BASF, Hochtief and Allianz moved up 1%-2%.
Shares of sports car manufacturer Porsche moved higher after the group unveiled the Mission S vision model, showcasing the future evolution of its design identity under the 'Sportswagenschmiede '35' strategy.
SAP drifted down by about 1%. Continental, Qiagen and Infineon declined marginally.
In the French market, EssilorLuxottica surged nearly 4%. Renault moved up 3.3%. Thales, Stellantis, Pernod Ricard, Airbus, Edenred, Accor and Bouygues gained 1.4%-3%.
Teleperformance shed about 2.2%. Schneider Electric closed lower by 1.8%. Publicis Groupe, Michelin and Eurofins Scientific lost 1.1%-1.25%.
In economic news, The euro area trade balance showed a shortfall of EUR 16.1 billion in August, compared with a surplus of EUR 10.7 billion posted in July. In the same period last year, the deficit was EUR 1.7 billion.
Exports of goods increased 9.9% from a year ago, which was faster than the 8.8% rise in July. At the same time, growth in imports accelerated sharply to 16.7% from 9.1%.
Eurozone inflation rose to 3.8% in September, marking the highest since September 2023, from 3.2% in August. The rate matched the flash estimate published on October 2.
Excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, core inflation rose slightly to 2.5%, as estimated, from 2.4% in the previous month.
Month-on-month, the harmonized index of consumer prices gained 0.6%, matching the initial estimate.
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