European Shares Extend Gains Boosted By China Data

(RTTNews) - European stocks rallied on Friday after the European Central Bank signaled that Thursday's rate hike could be the last hike in the current cycle.

Improved retail sales and industrial production data from China also boosted sentiment.

The pan European STOXX 600 was up 0.9 percent at 464.80 after rallying 1.5 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX climbed 1 percent, France's CAC 40 jumped 1.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent.

Luxury stocks were moving higher, buoyed by more stimulus measures from China.

Kering jumped 2.7 percent, LVMH added 3.5 percent, Hermes rose 2 percent and Richemont advanced 3.8 percent.

Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB slumped 5 percent after third quarter net sales lagged expectations.

French automaker Renault rose 1.6 percent on expectations that it could gain if the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese electric car imports.

Germany's Bayer rose 1.2 percent on news that its new CEO plans to cut management jobs as part of efforts to overhaul the embattled industrial group.

Vinci SA, a concessions and construction firm, gained 1.2 percent after its unit, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, has bagged a 160 million euros contract to design and build a 180,000 m3 liquefied natural gas or LNG tank in The Netherlands.

Chrysler parent Stellantis rose about 1 percent after U.S. auto workers launched a strike at Detroit's big three firms.

Games Workshop shares soared 10 percent. The maker of Warhammer revealed in a trading update that sales over the past three months jumped ahead of expectations.

Power Metal Resources surged 4.3 percent after announcing it has found two significant gold anomalies at its Tati gold project in Botswana.