European stocks rallied on Friday after investors found comfort in China’s report of an increase in April’s factory activity, exceeding analysts’ forecasts. However, with the simmering trade tensions between the U.S. and China, many speculate that it would lead the shares market to weekly declines.
The pan-European STOXX gained 1.4% at 0715 GMT, with travel stocks leading the sectorial rally with a 2.7% climb.
Miners and chipmakers in China saw a surge after the world’s second-largest economy reported a 3.9% increase in industrial output in April year-on-year compared to a forecasted 1.5%.
However, global stock markets fell in May as fears mounted over a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases in Asia.
Swiss drugmaker Roche’s shares also supported market gains after it climbed by 1.4% on Friday. Roche said that it would start selling new digital diagnostics products that could streamline the screening of COVID-19 patients.
Shares of U.K.-based telecoms company BT Group Plc soared by 8.2% after they had announced that they were closing in on a multi-billion Pound deal. The BT Group said that they would be selling Openreach, its network subsidiary to infrastructure investors.
On Friday, the Chinese technology company ByteDance said that it would consider listing its domestic businesses in Hong Kong or Shanghai due to rising Sino-U.S. tensions. The company's standalone listing in Hong Kong or Shanghai might value ...
Asian shares recorded a turbulent session on Friday as weak economic data from the United States and surging coronavirus infections worldwide dragged market confidence. The decline followed despite upbeat U.S. tech gains and signs of rebound ...
June had seen Japan’s industrial output breaking its four-month slump. The recuperation could be attributed to a modest recovery seen in broader business and consumer activity after the world’s third-biggest economy suffered from ...
European shares traded lower earlier on Thursday after underwhelming earnings reports dampened a U.S. Fed vow to continue rolling out stimulus plans in a bid to soften the economic blow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pan-European STOXX lost ...
The dollar was briefly lifted on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve offered no concrete clues about its next course of action, while investors hoped for an easy policy as the coronavirus resurgence stalled economic recovery. The dollar ...