European Shares Inch Higher Ahead Of US Jobs Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks were seeing modest gains in cautious trade on Friday, a day after the Bank of England signaled that it will likely lower borrowing costs this year for the first time since 2020.

On a light day on the economic front, data showed France's industrial production growth more than doubled in December.

Industrial output grew 1.1 percent on a monthly basis, following November's 0.5 percent gain. The growth rate was forecast to ease to 0.2 percent amid sluggish activity in the wider euro area.

The pan European STOXX 600 rose half a percent to 486.34 after declining 0.4 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX climbed 0.8 percent, while France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE both were up around half a percent ahead of the all-important U.S. jobs report due later in the day.

Swedish home appliances maker Electrolux slumped 4.5 percent after its net loss more than tripled in 2023.

Garden equipment maker Husqvarna rallied 2.4 percent after posting a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss

France's Vinci SA gained about 1 percent. Its unit Nuvia has bagged a six-year contract from Swedish energy company Vattenfall, to dismantle units 1 and 2 of the Ringhals nuclear power plant in Sweden.

Adidas shares were up 1.4 percent. The German sportswear giant intends to sell the remaining stock of Yeezy sneakers from its discontinued collaboration with Kanye West, at a minimum of the production cost.

Wizz Air Holdings shares soared more than 8 percent. The airline reported higher number of passengers flying in its aircrafts for January compared to the same period last year. Peer EasyJet rallied 3.5 percent.