European Stocks Close Higher On Strong GDP Data, Earnings

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Thursday, recovering from recent losses, as investors assessed the most recent global economic data, including U.S. inflation and euro area GDP reports, and reacted to a slew of quarterly earnings and other corporate news.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 1.08%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.51%, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 moved up 1.37% and 1.32%, respectively, while Switzerland's SMI closed up 0.68%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains.

Iceland edged up marginally, while Denmark, Greece and Russia ended weak.

In the UK market, Burberry Group shares zoomed nearly 10% after new CEO of the fashion brand, Joshua Schulman, pledged to "stabilize the business" with a turnaround plan.

Aviva gained more than 4% after a strong Q3 update, showing continued growth across various business lines. B&M European Value Retail, Spirax Group, Schrodders, Aviva, Severn Trent, 3i Group, Prudential, United Utilities and Informa gained 3 to 5%.

Centrica, BP, RightMove, BT Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, WPP, Segro, Barratt Redrow, Land Securities, Unite Group and Haleon climbed 1.5 to 2.75%.

Convatec Group dropped 3.51%. Experian, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings and BAE Systems lost 2 to 3%. ICG, Next, Endeavour Mining, Sainsbury (J), Weir Group and Coca-Cola also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Infineon climbed 4.7%. Siemens gained nearly 5% after Q4 earnings topped expectations. Deutsche Telekom rallied 3.5% after the telecoms group beat third-quarter profit expectations and raised its full-year core profit guidance.

BMW advanced nearly 3%. Deutsche Bank, Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Post, Continental, Fresenius Medical Care, Volkswagen, Vonovia, Deutsche Boerse, Daimler Truck Holding, Henkel, Porsche and Commerzbank gained 1 to 2.3%.

Merck ended more than 3% down. Zalando, Rheinmetall and RWE closed moderately lower.

In the French market, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Vivendi, Eurofins Scientific, STMicroElectronics, Stellantis, Legrand, TotalEnergies, Capgemini and Saint Gobain gained 2 to 4%.

Alstom rallied sharply. The French train maker beat expectations for its half-year cash position, helped by increased volumes and cost saving initiatives.

LVMH, Hermes International, Renault, Dassault Systemes, Essilor, Schneider Electric, Unibail Rodamco, Vinci, Veolia, Danone, Societe Generale, Publicis Groupe, Pernod Ricard, Bouygues, Michelin and AXA ended higher by 1 to 2%.

On the economic front, the euro area economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter, as initially estimated, flash estimate from Eurostat showed.

Gross domestic product grew 0.4% sequentially after rising 0.2% in the second quarter. The rate came in line with the preliminary flash estimate published on October 30. On a yearly basis, economic growth increased to 0.9% from 0.6% in the previous quarter. The annual rate also matched the preliminary estimate.

Meanwhile, Eurozone industrial production declined in September on decreases in energy and capital goods output. Industrial output fell 2% month-on-month in September, in contrast to the 1.5% increase in August. The decline was also bigger than forecast of -1.3%.

Year-on-year, the decline in industrial production deepened to 2.8% in September from 0.1% in August. Output was expected to drop 2%.