Christian Bocsi Bloomberg Getty Images
LONDON – European markets closed at new records on Friday, as stocks were tracked higher on news of China’s stimulus blitz and investors assessed new inflation data.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.52% higher to hit a high of 528.33 points, after setting a record intraday high earlier in the session, according to LSEG data.
Chemical stocks led the gains, adding 2.75%, while auto names rose 2.23%.
It comes after the Chinese market scored its best week in nearly 16 years, with the mainland’s CSI 300 rallying 15.7% this week. The last time the index saw a bigger weekly gain was the week ended November 14, 2008.
China rolled out a large-scale stimulus package this week to boost growth and restore confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.
The People’s Bank of China said it cut the seven-day reverse repo rate to 1.5%, the second reduction in three months, and cut the reserve requirement ratio of financial institutions by 0.5 percentage points.
In Europe, France and Spain both published preliminary data on Friday that showed a harmonious decline in inflation. The September reading led to expectations that headline inflation rates in the euro zone as a whole would reflect a sharp decline below the ECB’s 2% target.
Statistics agency Eurostat is scheduled to release flash eurozone inflation data for September on Tuesday.
Stocks on the move
Looking at individual stock movements, Italian fashion group Moncler’s shares rose almost 11%, topping the European benchmark. It comes after French luxury giant LVMH struck a deal to invest in Double R, an investment vehicle controlled by Moncler, Reuters reported. LVMH shares added 3.7% on the news.
Meanwhile, shares of Spanish bank Banco Sabadell closed 4.8% lower. The lender is the subject of an ill-advised takeover bid from a larger Spanish bank, BBVA.
Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Thursday, Banco Sabadell CEO CĂ©sar González-Bueno said BBVA’s proposal was “very volatile” and offered an “insufficient” price. Earlier this week, BBVA CEO Onur Genç told CNBC that the takeover was “moving according to plan.”
On Wall Street, US stocks were mixed as highly anticipated data showed inflation nearing the Federal Reserve’s August target.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, rose 0.1% in August, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July.
Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected all-item PCE to rise 0.1% in the month and 2.3% from a year ago.
– CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.
