European Shares Rally As Inflation Concerns Ease

(RTTNews) - European shares rose on Friday to extend gains from the previous session after data showed Eurozone inflation hit a two-year low in September - supporting expectations that the European Central Bank will keep interest rates on hold.

Eurostat reported that the Eurozone's annual inflation rate fell to 4.3 percent year-on-year in September, marking the lowest level since October 2021.

Elsewhere, data showed the British economy grew stronger than expected in the first quarter.

Revised data showed that GDP rose by 0.3 percent between January and March, up from the 0.1 percent growth previously estimated.

GDP growth for 2022 as a whole was revised up to 4.3 percent, while second-quarter growth was unrevised at 0.2 percent.

The pan European STOXX 600 climbed 1.1 percent to 453.62 after rising 0.4 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX rose 0.9 percent, France's CAC 40 jumped over 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.8 percent.

China-exposed luxury stocks traded higher, with Richemont, LVMH, Kering and Hermes International rallying 2-4 percent on expectations of increased sales during the Golden Week holiday in mainland China.

JD Sports Fashion, Puma and Adidas jumped 5-6 percent after Nike topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit.

Commerzbank AG jumped 11 percent after an announcement that it was revamping its pay-out policy for investors.

The German lender said It intends to return a total of 3 billion euros to shareholders as dividends and share buy-backs for period of 2022 to 2024. To reach the target, the pay-out ratio will be at least 70 percent in 2024.

Shares of Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings soared 12 percent in London after an announcement that Yew Tree consortium has agreed to buy an additional 3.27 percent or 26 million common shares in the automobile company.

Water and wastewater services provider Severn Trent rallied 3 percent after it announced a plan to invest about 12.9 billion pounds across the next five-year regulatory period.

Syncona, a healthcare company, climbed 6.4 percent on share buyback news.

3i Infrastructure gained 1 percent after the infrastructure investment group said it is on track to deliver the fiscal year 2024 dividend target of 11.90 pence per share, up 6.7 percent from fiscal year 2023.

Specialist media firm Future surged 21 percent after retaining its annual earnings guidance despite continued macroeconomic volatility.