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Stock prices in Europe opened largely higher on Friday, while sterling faded after numbers showed the UK economy registered no growth in July. Stocks have been supported by the conviction that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month, a notion strengthened by more tepid labour market data on Thursday. The FTSE 100 index rose 22.58 points, 0.2%, at 9,320.16. It is up 1.2% so far this week. The FTSE 250 was edged down 12.03 points, 0.1%, at 21,681.72, and the AIM All-Share was up 3.21 points, 0.4%, at 770.31. The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.3% at 934.46, the Cboe UK 250 was flat at 18,976.34, but the Cboe Small Companies was 0.3% higher at 17,144.78. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.1% lower. In Frankfurt, the DAX 40 was 0.3% higher. In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average powered 1.3% higher, the S&P 500 added 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.7%. In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 hit another all-time high, rising 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1% though the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong surged 1.2% in late trade. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.7% higher. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the US annual consumer price index accelerated to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, as anticipated by the FXStreet-cited consensus. The monthly inflation rate sped up to 0.4% in August from 0.2% in July, higher than the consensus of an increase to 0.3% in August. The core annual inflation rate remained unchanged at 3.1% in August, as expected. The monthly core inflation rate was unchanged at 0.3%, also as anticipated. Separately, the US Department of Labor reported that the latest number of new unemployment insurance claims was 263,000 in the week to September 6, an increase of 27,000 from 236,000 a week prior, the latter of which was revised down from 237,000. The most recent figures are the highest since October 2021. The next Fed decision is on Wednesday. ‘Given the mixed signalsnegative PPI, higher unemployment, and core CPI remaining on trackthe market still leans toward a 25 bps cut,’ XS.com analyst Linh Tran commented. The euro was lower at $1.1739 on Friday morning from $1.1743 at the time of the closing bell in Europe on Thursday. Versus, the yen, the buck rose to JP¥147.43 from JP¥147.06. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.04%, stretching from 4.02%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was unmoved at 4.67%. The pound faded to $1.3565 early Friday from $1.3578 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. The UK economy registered no growth in July, as expected, numbers on Friday showed. According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy tread water in July, an outcome in line with consensus, after gross domestic product advanced 0.4% in June from May. ‘Real gross domestic product grew by 0.2% in the three months to July 2025 compared with the three months to April 2025, down from three-month-on-three-month growths of 0.3% in June 2025 and 0.6% in May 2025,’ the ONS said. Ebury analyst Samuel Edwards commented: ‘Today’s data points to an economy at a standstill in what will be another blow to the government in the run up to the now confirmed autumn budget.’ A barrel of Brent declined to $65.87 on Friday morning, from $66.42 at the time of the London equities close on Thursday. Gold rose to $3,650.62 an ounce from $3,636.97. A stronger gold price supported shares in producers Fresnillo and Hochschild, with the duo up 4.6% and 4.7%. Retailer WH Smith fell 1.8% after Berenberg cut the stock to ’hold’ from ’buy’. SSP rose 3.4% after the German bank raised the Upper Crust owner to ’buy’ from ’hold’. Elsewhere in London, Gemfields Group rose 6.1%. The miner and marketer of coloured gemstones said it generated revenue of $32.0 million at an emerald auction held between August 25 and September 11, nearly doubled from $16.1 million in November 2024. ‘This September auction marks Kagem’s first high-quality emerald sale since the disappointing result in November 2024. Mining operations at Kagem were suspended in January 2025 in response to market uncertainty and challenges relating to the oversupply of Zambian emeralds. Following signs of recovery at the April commercial-quality auction, two mining points were reopened in May,’ Gemfields’ Managing Director of Product & Sales Adrian Banks said. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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