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European stocks rose on Friday and were on track for weekly gains, as travel and tourism stocks gained ground amid reports that Britain will consider easing COVID-19 rules for international travel later today. <\/p>\n
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.4 percent to 467.66 after rising 0.4 percent on Thursday. <\/p>\n
The German DAX rose 0.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 index climbed 0.6 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed, giving up early gains after retail sales fell unexpectedly in August. <\/p>\n
Deutsche Lufthansa, InterContinental Hotels and British-Airways-owner IAG surged 2-4 percent amid hopes for an easing of restrictions for international travel. <\/p>\n
Shares of Accsys Technologies soared 4 percent after the British wood building products maker reported strong sales and revenue growth for the five months.<\/p>\n
Mining giant Anglo American slumped 4 percent, BHP fell over 2 percent and Rio Tinto dropped 2.6 percent as iron ore prices crashed on concerns over weaker demand.<\/p>\n
French carmaker Renault was moving lower as group management and representative trade unions launched negotiations with a view to concluding a nationwide multi-year labor agreement for the period 2022-2024.<\/p>\n
Luxury stocks rebounded, with LVMH rising 1.9 percent and Kering adding 2.5 percent.
Beverage company Pernod Ricard jumped 2.5 percent. <\/p>\n
Commerzbank rallied 3 percent. Handelsblatt reported that U.S. investor Cerberus was considering taking a 15.6 percent in the German lender after the federal election.<\/p>\n
Biotest shares soared 22 percent as Grifols SA agreed to buy the healthcare company for about 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion).<\/p>\n
In economic releases, U.K. retail sales declined for the fourth straight month in August, the Office for National Statistics reported. <\/p>\n
Retail sales including auto fuel dropped unexpectedly by 0.9 percent month-on-month after declining 2.8 percent in July. Sales were forecast to climb 0.5 percent.<\/p>\n
On a yearly basis, retail sales remained flat versus July’s 1.9 percent increase and the expected growth of 2.5 percent.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Eurozone’s construction output grew for the first time in four months in July, data from Eurostat showed. The construction output gained 0.1 percent month-on-month in July, after a 0.6 percent decrease in June.<\/p>\n
On a year-on-year basis, output gained 3.3 percent in the month, after a 4.1 percent growth in the prior month. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n