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European stocks shrugged off early weakness and ended higher on Friday as traders picked up shares, tracking quarterly earnings and other corporate news. <\/p>\n
Optimism about recovery amid signs of progress on the U.S. stimulus front and momentum in vaccination drive supported the markets<\/span>.<\/p>\n Concerns about U.S.-China tensions weighed on sentiment. After a two-hour call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Wednesday, Biden warned lawmakers that “If we don’t get moving, they are going to eat our lunch”.<\/p>\n The two leaders discussed a range of issues, including human rights, trade and security, according to the White House. Both appeared at odds on most issues.<\/p>\n The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.64%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.94%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.6% and Germany’s DAX edged up 0.06%, while Switzerland’s SMI ended 0.25% up.<\/p>\n Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.<\/p>\n Austria, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Turkey closed weak.<\/p>\n In the UK market, St. James Place, AstraZeneca, DCC, Prudential, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Smith DS, Just Eat Takeaway, Rentokil, Ocado Group, Severn Trent and Royal Dutch Shell gained 2 to 4%.<\/p>\n Kingfisher, Tesco, Whitbread, JD Sports Fashion and Fresnillo ended notably lower.<\/p>\n In the German market, Fresenius Medical Care, Thyssenkrupp, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Fresenius, Merck and Infineon Technologies gained 1 to 2.3%, while Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, SAP, Continental, Adidas, Lufthansa and Covestro ended with sharp to moderate losses.<\/p>\n In France, Essilor and Schneider Electric moved up more than 3%. LOreal gained after reporting stronger than expected sales in the fourth-quarter and issued a promising outlook.<\/p>\n Unibail Rodamco gained about 3%, bouncing back from losses in the previous session. Technip, BNP Paribas, Teleperformance and Credit Agricole also ended notably higher.<\/p>\n In economic news, In economic releases, official data showed the U.K. economy<\/span> logged its biggest annual fall on record in 2020, with GDP falling 9.9%.<\/p>\n The report from the Office for National Statistics showed UK’s GDP grew 1% in the fourth quarter following a 16.1% growth in the third quarter. GDP grew 1.2% in December, after falling by a revised 2.3% in November.<\/p>\n The UK economy is set to contract more than the previous projection as stringent Covid-19 restrictions are expected to remain elevated until early spring, along with the effects of post-Brexit adjustment, the National Institute of Social and Economic research said.<\/p>\n Gross domestic product is forecast to decline 3.8% in the first quarter, instead of 3.4% estimated last month.<\/p>\n Switzerland’s consumer prices continued to decline in January, albeit at a softer pace, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The consumer price index decreased 0.5% year-on-year in January, following a 0.8% fall in December. Economists had expected a 0.6% fall.<\/p>\n On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.1% in January, reversing a 0.1% decline in the preceding month. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n