FX.co ★ European Stocks Close Higher Ahead Of Long Weekend

On Thursday, European stocks ended the day on a high with several markets hitting multi-month or record highs, fuelled by expectations of impending interest rate cuts. This positive trend was also a result of encouraging U.S. economic data. However, ahead of a long Easter holiday weekend, the majority of the markets saw only slight increases due to traders being hesitant about building up positions.

In the European trading sphere, the Stoxx 600 had a 0.24% increase. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose by 0.36%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 increased by 0.14% and 0.1% respectively. Switzerland's SMI also saw an uplift of 0.15%. Other European markets, including Austria, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia and Turkey also closed higher.

Regarding the UK market, JD Sports Fashion saw a significant surge of 15.5%. This British sports and fashion retail company announced that it expects its full-year profit before tax and adjusted items to align with its forecast of £915 - 935 million. Other strong performers in the UK were Antofagasta, Fresnillo, EasyJet, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, WPP, Flutter Entertainment, Reckitt Benckiser, Glencore, Whitbread, St. James's Place, Frasers Group, Vodafone, Anglo American Plc and Ashtead, all witnessing gains between 1.5 to 3%.

In the German market, Siemens Energy saw an increase of more than 3%. Other notable performers included Merck, Puma and Symrise. Deutsche Post, Porsche, Brenntag, SAP, Continental and BASF suffered minor losses ranging from 0.5 to 1.4%.

In Paris, WorldLine saw a significant rally with an increase of over 4%. Other top performers included Eurofins Scientific, Alstom, Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Legrand, Credit Agricole, Publicis Groupe, Renault and Edenred, each gaining between 1 to 3%.

Revised data from the U.S. Commerce Department showed that the real gross domestic product (GDP) had a 3.4% surge in the fourth quarter, higher than the previously predicted 3.2% rise. Furthermore, data from the German Federal Statistics Office confirmed that retail sales in Germany had reduced by 1.9% from January, conflicting with the predicted increase of 0.3%.

Looking at employment data from Germany, it was revealed that joblessness increased less than expected in February, revealing the continuous strong performance of the nation's economy despite recent challenges. Furthermore, data from the Office for National Statistics indicated that the U.K.'s GDP showed a decrease of 0.3%, confirming a technical recession towards the end of 2023.

Finally, data showed that the U.K.’s car production saw a steady climb for the sixth consecutive month in February, prompted by strong demand in the domestic market. The total car production saw a 14.6% year-over-year increase, marking the strongest February performance since 2021.