European stocks concluded Thursday's trading session on a positive note, bouncing back from recent downturns. This recovery came as investors evaluated the latest global economic indicators, focusing particularly on U.S. inflation and eurozone GDP data, and delved into a wave of quarterly earnings reports and other corporate developments.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 1.08%. The FTSE 100 in the U.K. increased by 0.51%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 saw advances of 1.37% and 1.32%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI closed up with a gain of 0.68%.
Across other European markets, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey registered significant to moderate gains. In contrast, Iceland experienced only a slight uptick, whereas Denmark, Greece, and Russia finished the session on a weaker note.
In the U.K. market, shares of Burberry Group surged nearly 10% following a strategic commitment from new CEO Joshua Schulman to "stabilize the business" through a turnaround initiative. Aviva also performed well, climbing over 4% on the back of a robust Q3 update highlighting ongoing growth in various business sectors. Noteworthy gains of 3% to 5% were seen in B&M European Value Retail, Spirax Group, Schrodders, Aviva, Severn Trent, 3i Group, Prudential, United Utilities, and Informa. Additional companies like Centrica, BP, RightMove, BT Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, WPP, Segro, Barratt Redrow, Land Securities, Unite Group, and Haleon rose by 1.5% to 2.75%.
Conversely, Convatec Group declined by 3.51%, with Experian, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings, and BAE Systems also reporting losses between 2% and 3%. Furthermore, ICG, Next, Endeavour Mining, Sainsbury (J), Weir Group, and Coca-Cola ended the session considerably lower.
Turning to the German market, Infineon experienced a gain of 4.7%, while Siemens advanced nearly 5% after surpassing Q4 earnings expectations. Deutsche Telekom surged by 3.5% following a third-quarter profit beat and an upward adjustment of its full-year core profit forecast. BMW increased by close to 3%, with Deutsche Bank, Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Post, Continental, Fresenius Medical Care, Volkswagen, Vonovia, Deutsche Boerse, Daimler Truck Holding, Henkel, Porsche, and Commerzbank achieving gains ranging from 1% to 2.3%. However, Merck dipped by more than 3%, and Zalando, Rheinmetall, and RWE closed with moderate losses.
In France, companies like Kering, ArcelorMittal, Vivendi, Eurofins Scientific, STMicroelectronics, Stellantis, Legrand, TotalEnergies, Capgemini, and Saint-Gobain saw increases of 2% to 4%. Alstom notably surged, buoyed by its first-half financial performance, which exceeded cash position expectations thanks to higher volumes and cost-saving measures. Other French firms, including LVMH, Hermès International, Renault, Dassault Systèmes, Essilor, Schneider Electric, Unibail-Rodamco, Vinci, Veolia, Danone, Société Générale, Publicis Groupe, Pernod Ricard, Bouygues, Michelin, and AXA, concluded higher with gains between 1% and 2%.
Economically, the eurozone's GDP expanded at a quicker pace in Q3, confirming initial estimates from Eurostat. The GDP saw a sequential growth of 0.4% following a 0.2% rise in Q2, aligning with the preliminary flash estimate released on October 30. Annually, economic growth accelerated to 0.9% from 0.6% in the previous quarter, also matching the preliminary figures.
Meanwhile, Eurozone industrial production saw a decrease in September, primarily due to drops in energy and capital goods output. Industrial production fell by 2% month-on-month, contrasting the 1.5% rise in August, and surpassing the forecasted decline of 1.3%. On a yearly basis, the industrial production drop deepened to 2.8% in September from 0.1% in August, against an anticipated 2% decrease.
