European Stocks Up Firmly In Positive Territory

European stocks are up in positive territory on Friday, with the French market outperforming its peers thanks to widespread buying thanks to data showing a jump in consumer confidence in January. Signs of cooling inflation in the euro area contribute as well to the firm undertone in European markets.

Investors are looking ahead to the PCE inflation data from U.S. due later in the day for further cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory,

The pan European Stoxx 600 is up 0.94%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is gaining 1.23%, Germany’s DAX is up 0.17%, and France’s CAC 40 is up as much as 2.1%. Switzerland’s SMI is advancing nearly 1.5%.

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye are all up in positive territory, while Iceland and Poland are trading weak.

Strong fourth-quarter sales from LVMH has triggered hectic buying in the luxury sector across European markets. Shares from the banking sector are also faring well.

Among the top gainers in the UK market, Croda International and Diageo are climbing up 4.5% and 4.3%, respectively. St. James’s Place is rising 3.5% and Burberry Group is up nearly 3%.

Barclays Group, Rentokil Initial, Prudential, Ocado Group, Natwest Group, Smurfit Kappa, Entain, Reckitt Benckiser, Lloyds Banking, Unilever, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Standard Chartered, Fresnillo, AstraZeneca, RightMove and DS Smith are advancing 1.4 to 2.5%.

J Sainsbury is declining 1.7%. Tesco and BAE Systems are lower by about 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively.

In Germany, Sartorius is surging more than 7%. Merck is gaining about 5.5% and Porsche is up 3.1%. Brenntag, Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius Medical Care, Puma, BASF, Covestro, Fresenius and Siemens Healthineers are up 1.5 to 2.1%.

Bayer is down more than 2%. Deutsche Telekom, MTU Aero Engines, SAP and Infineon are down 0.8 to 1.4%.

In the French market, LVMH is soaring nearly 11% after the company reported a 10% jump in fourth-quarter sales. Pernod Ricard is…