European stocks rose on Friday as regional markets reopened after being closed for the Christmas holiday.
Pan-European Stoxx 600 the index was 0.2% higher at 8:40 a.m. London time, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk rose 3.5% in morning trading, sending the company to the top of the Stoxx 600. The company’s shares continued the rally that began earlier this week, recovering from a major selloff in the stock drop 20% in one session last week.
Elsewhere, investors are watching economic data from China, where official figures showed industrial gains in the world’s second-largest economy contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November.
The data release arrived a day after the World Bank raised growth forecasts for China 2024 and 2025, but warned that the country’s economy would remain under pressure, given subdued business confidence and continued uncertainty in China’s troubled real estate sector.
The markets were in a mixed area overnight in Asia as traders reacted to the latest Chinese data prints as well as recent Japanese inflation numbers. IN update on fridayofficial figures showed that core inflation in the city of Tokyo stood at 3% in November, up from 2.6% in October.
Back in Europe, Spain and Norway are due to release retail sales data for November on Friday.
