European equity markets advanced on Friday, with the STOXX 50 up 0.8% and the broader STOXX 600 rising 0.5%, as investors weighed fresh economic data and looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium for signals on the US interest-rate trajectory. French banks led the move higher: Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Crédit Agricole gained between 0.8% and 1% after sharp losses in the previous session driven by concerns over France’s political and fiscal outlook ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Inflation data from France and Spain pointed to renewed price pressures, with EU-harmonized consumer prices climbing to fresh multi-year highs and reinforcing expectations that the ECB could resume interest-rate hikes in September. Corporate news flow was limited. Strabag jumped nearly 9% after raising its full-year guidance, while Bertelsmann added 0.2% following an upgrade to its 2026 outlook.
