Investing.com – European stock markets rose Friday, cheered by stronger than expected growth data from China, as well as merger talk in the important mining sector.
At 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT), the in Germany climbed 1.1%, the in France gained 1% and the in the UK surged 1.1%, climbing to an all-time high.
Chinese growth helps sentiment
China’s grew 5.4% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to data released earlier Friday, significantly beating analysts’ expectations and marking the quickest growth since the second quarter of 2023.
For the full-year 2024, the world’s second-largest economy grew 5.0%, meeting the government’s annual growth target of around 5%. A
China is a major export market for Europe’s senior companies, and its economic slowdown has been a drag on growth this year.
Back in Europe, British fell unexpectedly in December, dropping 0.3% in month-on-month terms in December after a downwardly revised 0.1% expansion in November.
“This was driven by a very poor month for food sales, which sank to their lowest level since 2013, with supermarkets particularly affected,” ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said.
Miners rise on M&A talk
In corporate news, the mining sector surged following a Bloomberg report indicating Glencore (LON:) had been in talks with Rio Tinto (LON:) to explore the industry’s largest ever merger.
While the talks are reportedly no longer active, they have ramped up speculation that M&A could be possible in this heavily weighted sector, prompting buying in both stocks.
Elsewhere, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:) stock rose 1% after the drugs giant said that the US FDA had approved its drug to treat previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma in adults who cannot have a stem cell transplant.
Across the pond, Wall Street earnings include those from State Street (NYSE:) and Citizens Financial (NYSE:) Group.
Crude set for weekly gain
Oil prices rose Friday, heading towards a fourth consecutive weekly gain with the latest US sanctions on the Russian crude trade continuing to offer support.
By 05:35 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) gained 0.5% to $78.26 a barrel, while the contract rose 0.3% to $81.50 a barrel.
Both contracts have gained around 3% so far this week.
The Biden administration last week announced widening sanctions targeting Russian oil producers and tankers, likely resulting in supply disruptions and price increases.
