February 17, 2025

European markets opened higher on Friday, setting the region’s shares up for the week following one of the best trading sessions in four months on Wednesday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3% shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and all major exchanges edging higher. Mining stocks led gains, with sector gains exceeding 1% Bloomberg reports Glencore has been in talks with Rio Tinto over what would be the industry’s biggest-ever merger. Negotiations are reportedly no longer active.

Glencore The stock was up about 2% at 8:16 a.m. London time.

Further data released by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed that the economy returned to growth in November, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.1% month-on-month after two months of economic contraction. While the data ended Britain’s two-month economic slump, it was still below the 0.2% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters.

This was followed by more disappointing figures on Friday, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated UK retail sales fell 0.3% in December from the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise 0.4% from the previous quarter.

Data released in the UK this week raised hopes that the Bank of England will resume interest rate cuts at its next monetary policy meeting in February. London Stock Exchange data showed traders overwhelmingly expected the central bank to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the upcoming meeting.

Elsewhere in the region, the European Commission is due to finalize euro zone inflation data on Friday. Preliminary data released earlier this month showed annual inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.4% in December, marking the third consecutive month of increases in the euro zone.

Spain – one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development — Import and export data are scheduled to be released on Friday morning.

Asian stock markets were mixed overnight, with investors responding more than expected to China’s fourth-quarter GDP data.

On Wall Street, stock index futures edged higher, with indexes still expected to end the week higher despite some volatility in recent days.

CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Lee Ying Shan contributed to this European market update.

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