European Stocks Rise as EU Leaders Strike Deal on Immigration

By Investors Hub

European stocks have rallied on Friday after China eased restrictions on foreign investment in several sectors and EU leaders struck a deal on immigration, helping investors shrug off trade tensions.

EU leaders have reached an agreement on migration, averting a political crisis in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government was under strain over migrant policy.

While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 1.2 percent.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has rallied after announcing a share buyback and unveiling plans to spin off its eye-care business Alcon.

French drug giant Sanofi has also climbed after it received a positive CHMP opinion for the treatment of a rare blood disorder called acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

BAE Systems has jumped in London. The Australian Commonwealth Government has selected the British defense company as the preferred tenderer to deliver its nine ship Future Frigate program for the Royal Australian Navy.

Meanwhile, British outsourcing and support services provider Serco Group has slumped after the company cut its revenue guidance for 2018.

In economic news, German retail sales decreased for the first time in seven months in May, while the country’s jobless rate held steady at 5.2 percent in June, separate reports showed.

French consumer price inflation rose to 2.1 percent in June from 2 percent in May, matching expectations, provisional estimates from the statistical office Insee revealed.

Flash data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone inflation rose to 2 percent in June, in line with estimates and up from 1.9 percent in May on food and energy prices. The European Central Bank targets ?below, but close to 2 percent? inflation.

In the U.K., the Office for National Statistics upwardly revised its first quarter GDP growth figures to 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent previously.

There was more good news for the economy as growth in the U.K.’s dominant services sector gained momentum in April and the housing market also ticked upwards in May despite some slowdown in unsecured consumer lending.