© Reuters
By Peter Nurse
Investing.com – European shares rose on Friday, helped by improved UK consumer confidence in the wake of the country’s autumn statement, but gains are likely to be temporary as the regional economic outlook remains gloomy.
From At 10.30 the index rose in Germany by 0.5%, in France by 0.5% and in Great Britain by 0.2%.
Investors were able to hold on to some good news on Friday, with the UK consumer confidence index rising to -44 in November, market research firm GfK said early Friday.
That’s up from -47 in October, and a significant improvement on the -52 forecast, although it remains near record lows.
Additionally, UK retail sales rose 0.6% in October, a better-than-expected result, although still down 6.1% on the year as British consumers struggle to cope with runaway inflation and rising interest rates .
The result came just hours after Britain’s chancellor confirmed in his autumn statement that the country was in recession, while announcing £55bn of tax rises and spending cuts as Britons face a record drop in living standards.
Moreover, the President of the European Central Bank is due to speak at the European Banking Congress in Frankfurt, and her speech will surely be dissected in search of clues about the rise in the Eurozone.
Europe’s banking sector will have its eyes on the European Central Bank, which is due to announce later on Friday how much banks plan to repay of the 2.1 billion euros in loans they took out as part of its long-term refinancing operations.
In corporate news, the action Renault (EPA: ) rose 0.7% after ratings agency Moody’s changed the French automaker’s outlook from negative to stable to reflect improved prospects for the profitability of its strategic plan.
The plot Tesco (LON: ) rose 1.2% after Britain’s biggest retailer said it is offering its employees pay advances to help cope with the worsening cost of living crisis.
Oil prices rose on Friday but are still on course for a steep weekly decline as a rising number of COVID cases in China threatened demand growth from the world’s biggest crude importer.
China reported more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections on Nov. 17, the National Health Commission said Friday, the highest level since April and approaching a record high.
In addition, there are growing fears that the spread will not slow down in the near future, with cases spreading to China’s densely populated Guangzhou and Chongqing regions, which could lead to further severe restrictions on mobility and a reduction in economic activity.
Around. At 10:30 a.m., U.S. oil futures traded up 0.5% at $82.03 a barrel. week.
Additionally, the contract was up 0.1% at $1,765.50/oz, while the contract was down 0.1% at 1.0350.