European stocks advanced on Friday as global markets remained buoyant after softer-than-expected U.S. consumer price index reading signaled that inflation may have peaked.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.7% in early trade, with financial services adding 2.4% to lead gains while the health care sector slipped 0.7%.
The European blue chip index closed 2.8% higher following Thursday’s consumer price index print, which sent major averages stateside to their biggest one-day rallies since 2020.
Markets are hoping the data could encourage the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease its aggressive monetary policy tightening.
U.S. stock futures rose early on Friday, pointing to further gains on Wall Street, with investors also keeping an eye on outstanding results from the U.S. midterm elections.
Investor optimism was boosted on Friday after China said it would ease some Covid measures, which sent Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index soaring more than 7% overnight.
