Europe: Stocks advance at open

EUROPEAN stocks rose in opening deals on Friday (Sep 30), buoyed partly by news that the UK economy narrowly avoided recession.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index gained 0.6 per cent to 6,920.30 points compared with Thursday’s close, as official data showed the UK economy expanding rather than shrinking in the second quarter.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX index jumped 1.0 per cent to 12,097.94 points and the Paris CAC 40 won 0.9 per cent to 5,729.94.

“There was a rare glimmer of hope as the (UK) GDP reading edged into positive territory for the second quarter unexpectedly, defying expectations of a recession - for now,” said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.

Asian equities mostly sank Friday after another tough day on US trading floors, with inflation continuing to soar and central bankers getting increasingly hawkish in their attempts to bring prices under control. AFP