On Friday European stocks rose as the German and French economies grew more than estimated and earnings at companies from Vivendi SA to UniCredit SpA topped forecasts. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.
Vivendi climbed 1.9% as the owner of the world’s biggest music and video-game companies said first-quarter profit rose 29% . UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, advanced 3.6% in Milan.
In Germany, gross domestic product adjusted for seasonal effects jumped 1.5% from the fourth quarter, when it rose 0.4% , the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists had forecast growth of 0.9% . French GDP grew 1% in the first quarter, beating economists’ median forecast of 0.6% .
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.3% at 1,148.49 points after falling 0.7% in the previous session.
Airbus parent EADS rose 3.4% as the company saw its cash pile hit a record 12.2 billion euros as it posted higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Miners, which saw a sharp sell-off in the previous session, bounced back with a recovery in metals prices. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Materials index was up 0.7% .
Asian stocks rose, led by markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai, as speculation mounted that China will limit interest-rate rises. Japanese stocks fell, dragged down by banks after the government said public pressure may force financial firms to write off loans to Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of an earthquake-damaged nuclear reactor. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.7% to while the Topix slid 1.1%
US stock index futures were signaling a higher open for Wall Street Friday, after stocks closed up Thursday following gains in commodity prices and with investors looking to inflation data later in the day.
This article was compiled by Valletta Fund Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group. Valletta Fund Management,
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