In early trade, the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.41%, with most sectors and major bourses showing positive trends. Notably, oil and gas stocks saw an increase of 0.97%, while the retail sector experienced a slight dip of 0.17%.
The previous session saw regional stocks end lower, primarily due to the retail sector being dragged down by H&M’s profit miss. Investors are now closely monitoring fresh inflation data from France, Italy, and Spain, which are expected later in the session. Germany is also set to release its unemployment figures and retail sales data.
Asia-Pacific markets experienced an upward trend on Friday as investors evaluated key economic data from Japan. Following the data release, the Japanese yen weakened to new 38-year lows, crossing the 161 mark against the dollar for the first time since 1986 and reaching a high of 161.27, according to LSEG data.
In the United States, stock futures were mixed ahead of the release of May’s core personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation.
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust plc (LON:JEDT) is an investment trust company. The Investment Trust JEDT objective is to achieve capital growth from a portfolio of quoted smaller companies in Europe, excluding the United Kingdom.
