Europe midday: Basic Resources firms pace gains after Chinese data
Stocks across the Continent extended their recent gains, tracking fresh record highs overnight on Wall Street and following the release of stronger-than-expected economic data in China.
"Stock markets in Europe are higher this morning as the bullish move in Asia overnight has influenced traders in this part of the world. China released some broadly positive economic reports, which has boosted sentiment around the globe," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
On Friday, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that industrial production in the Asian giant accelerated from a year-on-year pace of 6.2% for November to 6.9% in December, easily outpacing forecasts for a rise of 5.9%.
Reports on fixed asset investment and retail sales also came in ahead of economists' projections.
As of 1330 GMT, the Stoxx 600 was up by 0.96% at 424.56, while the Dax was trading ahead by 0.70% to 13,523.64 and the FTSE Mibtel was adding 0.80% to 24,135.92.
Shares of basic resources companies were especially strong on the back of the latest economic data out of China, with the Stoxx 600's gauge for that sector jumping by 2.26% to reach its highest level since April 2019.
In parallel, euro/dollar was down by 0.36% at 1.1097 while front month Brent crude oil futures added 0.37% to $64.86 a barrel on the ICE.
The economic data calendar on the Continent was light on Friday.
Eurostat confirmed that the year-on-year rate of consumer price increases accelerated from 1.0% for November to 1.3% in December, as expected.
In a separate report, the European Union's statistical agency said that construction output in the single currency bloc rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.7% in November.