European stock markets extended gains from the previous session early Friday, as they shake off downbeat sentiment from earlier in the week.
The Stoxx 600 index opened 0.47% higher, with all sectors in the green. The chemicals sector led gains, up 0.67%.
The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, comes to a close after drawing a raft of business leaders, politicians, central bankers and campaigners. Read CNBC’s round-up of Thursday’s events here.
Broadly, the messaging from monetary policymakers has been that good progress has been made on bringing inflation to 2%, but that market pricing for a cut from the European Central Bank as soon as March or April may be premature.
This appeared to sour sentiment, as investors pared back bets on a spring cut.
Attention now returns fully to data releases and corporate earnings updates for the fourth quarter, along with full-year guidance.
U.K. retail sales disappointed Friday, coming down by 3.2% in December, significantly more than expected. It was the largest monthly fall since January 2021, when pandemic measures restricted sales, the Office for National Statistics said.
Stateside, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to prevent a government shutdown, extending crucial funding through to March.
U.S. futures were near the flatline overnight. The technology sector drove a solid rally Thursday, after Bank of America analysts upgraded their Apple rating to “buy.”
Asia-Pacific stocks were also higher, with TSMC surging and Japanese inflation cooling to its lowest level since June 2022.