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European stocks were broadly higher on Friday after strong U.S. GDP data boosted hopes of a soft landing for the world’s largest economy<\/span> and paved the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, a former Fed hawk said waiting for September to cut rates “unnecessarily increases the risk” of recession.<\/p>\n U.S. June PCE data will be in focus later today, heading into next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. <\/p>\n The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.4 percent to 510.73 after closing 0.7 percent lower on Thursday. <\/p>\n The German DAX was marginally higher, giving up early gains. <\/p>\n France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent.<\/p>\n Italian oil major ENI gained 2.8 percent after its Q2 profit beat forecasts. <\/p>\n Ams OSRAM soared 17 percent after the sensor maker’s quarterly net loss came in better than expected.<\/p>\n British lender NatWest jumped 7 percent after lifting its full-year revenue forecast.<\/p>\n Defense and aerospace group Babcock International surged 5.3 percent after reporting strong FY24 results.<\/p>\n Hermes International rallied nearly 4 percent in Paris. The Birkin-bag maker reported a 13 percent rise in second-quarter sales, defying the luxury downturn.<\/p>\n Eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica surged 7.4 percent after reporting strong financial performance for the first half of 2024.<\/p>\n Construction-to-telecom group Bouygues dropped 1 percent despite delivering better-than-expected core profit for the first half of the year.<\/p>\n Capgemini shares slumped 11 percent. The IT consulting group expects its annual revenue to fall between 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent, compared with the earlier expectation of 0-3 percent rise.<\/p>\n German luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz was moving lower in volatile trade after trimming its 2024 profit outlook for its core car division. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n