European Shares Mostly Higher As UK GDP Growth Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - European stocks were mixed on Friday as investors digested a slew of regional data and looked ahead to the release of key U.S. inflation data later in the day for clues on when interest rates may be cut.

The British economy recovered more than initially estimated in the first quarter, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent from the fourth quarter, when the economy shrank 0.3 percent. In the initial estimate, the rate of expansion was 0.6 percent.

With this, the country has now come out of a technical recession as the GDP contracted in the previous two quarters.

France's consumer price inflation eased in June to the lowest level in nearly three years amid a slowdown in costs for food and energy, a provisional estimate from the statistical office INSEE revealed.

The consumer price index climbed 2.1 percent year-over-year in June, following a 2.3 percent rise in the previous month.

Further, this was the weakest inflation since August 2021, when prices had risen 1.9 percent.

Elsewhere, the number of people out of work in Germany rose more than expected in June, Federal Labour Office figures showed.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent at 513.80 after falling 0.4 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX rose half a percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.4 percent while France's CAC 40 dipped 0.4 percent ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The latest polls show a first-round national election win for far-right parties.

Retailer JD Sports Fashion lost 4 percent and PUMA SE fell nearly 3 percent after Nike, the world's largest sportswear maker by revenue, warned sales would fall this year.

Nokia added 1.2 percent after the Finnish telecoms giant agreed to acquire Infinera in a $2.3 billion deal to strengthen its optical-networks business.

Delivery Hero SE shares dropped 1.4 percent. The German online food delivery platform has announced that Marie-Anne Popp will take on the responsibility of interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from 1st July 2024 after current CFO Emmanuel Thomassin resigned with immediate effect to pursue other opportunities.

Deutsche Beteiligungs shares plunged 6.5 percent. The capital market company said it plans to issue convertible bonds due 2030 in an aggregate principal amount of 100 million euros.

The bonds are convertible into new and/or existing no-par value registered shares in the company.