Investing.com – European stock markets edged higher on Friday, continuing the upbeat tone seen on Wall Street, with investors digesting more corporate earnings and the latest economic activity data.
At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), Germany was up 0.2%, France gained 0.9% and the UK was up 0.2%.
European markets received a positive guidance from Wall Street, where the benchmark hit a record high after President Donald Trump, speaking online at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he would call for lower interest rates at the Federal Reserve.
Eurozone PMIs due
Back in Europe, the focus is on the release of the latest regional economic activity, with PMI figures for Britain and Europe due later in the session.
Services are seen outpacing manufacturing across the region, but it is expected to show that overall employment remains in contractionary territory.
This should give the European Central Bank additional incentive to cut interest rates when it meets next week.
Economists are widely expected to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the next policy meeting, after cutting borrowing costs four times to tackle weak growth and cool inflation in the currency bloc.
In contrast, it raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 0.5% earlier on Friday, its third hike since it began easing its monetary policy in early 2024.
Q4 earnings restriction expected
Europe's quarterly earnings season is set to kick into high gear, and expectations are subdued, with analysts predicting average fourth-quarter growth of around 1.5% from last year.
However, this would still mark the third consecutive quarter of expansion and forecasts showing both profit and sales growth for the first time since the first quarter of 2023.
You're already out, Burberry (LON:) stock rose more than 3% after the British brand reported a 4% drop in comparable quarterly sales in the third quarter to the end of December, beating market expectations for a 12% drop due to strong holiday demand in America. .
Burberry said it is now likely to avoid an operating loss for the full year, after reporting an operating loss in the first half.
Rolls-Royce (OTC: ) stock gained 2% after the engineering giant said it won the largest defense contract in its history, as the UK Ministry of Defense awarded the company $9 billion to oversee nuclear development and support. reactors for Royal Navy submarines.
Ericsson (BS: ) stock fell nearly 9% after the Swedish telecom equipment maker missed analysts' estimates for the fourth quarter, as expected sales in India did not materialize in that period.
Show (AS:), the world's largest lighting maker, reported a bigger-than-expected drop in core profit for the year and said CEO Eric Rondolat will step down after April's annual meeting. Its stock fell 2.6%.
Rude on the course due to the big loss of the week
Oil prices were steady on Friday, but remained on track for a weekly loss as President Trump called for lower crude prices and higher US energy production.
At 03:05 ET, US crude futures (WTI) were down 0.1% to 74.58 a barrel, while the contract was down 0.1% to $78.27 a barrel.
Both stocks were trading more than 3% lower in the week – their worst performance since November – after Trump signed an executive order calling for an increase in US oil production, while also rolling back some climate-related restrictions on the energy sector.
In addition, Trump, during his speech on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, called on Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce oil prices.
Uncertainty about his plans for trade tariffs against the macroeconomy, which could disrupt global trade and moderate oil demand, has weighed in.