European Markets Bounced Back After Banks Recover

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Friday's session in the green, bouncing back from yesterday's sharp pull back. The sell-off on Thursday brought the European markets to their lowest levels in over 2 years. Bank stocks rebounded from yesterday's weak performance and mining stocks surged on bargain hunting. Some solid Eurozone growth data also provided a boost to investor sentiment Friday.

Crude oil prices climbed at the end of the trading week, on hopes for an agreement in OPEC on production cuts. The Wall Street Journal quoted UAE Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazrouei as saying that OPEC members might be ready to cooperate on a production cut.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 2.83 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 3.13 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 2.45 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 2.52 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. advanced 3.08 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 2.13 percent.

In Frankfurt, Commerzbank soared 17.93 percent after the lender returned to profit in the fourth quarter, helped by lower provisions for bad loans.

Deutsche Bank climbed 12.16 percent despite Standard & Poor's lowering its Tier 1 securities rating.

Automaker Daimler rose 3.30 percent after making South Africa as the regional base for its new global truck and bus strategy. BMW increased percent and Volkswagen added percent.

RWE jumped 6.09 percent and peer E.ON gained 5.60 percent.

In Paris, Cosmetics group L'Oreal advanced 2.35 percent after its fourth-quarter sales growth beat forecasts.

Total surged 7.45 percent and Technip advanced 4.86 percent.

BNP Paribas rose 5.35 percent and Credit Agricole added 4.25 percent. Societe Generale also finished higher by 3.40 percent.

In London, Rolls-Royce jumped 14.34 percent after the company cut its dividend but left its outlook for 2016 unchanged.

Mining stocks surged as investors stepped in to buy them at depressed prices. Anglo American soared 18.36 percent. Glencore leaped 12.29 percent and Antofagasta gained 11.25 percent. BHP Billiton climbed 9.86 percent and Rio Tinto added 8.36 percent.

Eurozone industrial production dropped unexpectedly in December, data published by Eurostat showed Friday. Industrial output fell 1 percent on a monthly basis in December, faster than the revised 0.5 percent drop seen in November. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent rise after falling by initially estimated 0.7 percent in November.

The euro area economy continued to expand on German growth but the pace of expansion remains weak as the global economy slows, raising expectations for additional easing from the European Central Bank as early as next month.

Gross domestic product climbed 0.3 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2015, the same rate of growth as seen in the previous quarter, flash estimate from Eurostat showed Friday. The result was in line with expectations.

Germany's economy maintained growth momentum in the final three months of 2015, led by domestic demand, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Friday. Gross domestic product grew a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 0.3 percent from the third quarter, when it rose at the same pace. Growth was in line with economists' expectations.

Germany's consumer price inflation accelerated to an eight-month high in January as initially estimated, latest data from Destatis showed Friday. The consumer price index rose 0.5 percent year-over-year in January, in line with flash data, faster than the 0.3 percent increase in December.

British construction output grew at a slower-than-expected pace in December, after falling in the previous month, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Friday. Construction output rose 1.5 percent month-over-month in December, reversing a 1.1 percent drop in November. The expected rate of increase was 2.0 percent.

Partly reflecting an increase in auto sales, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. retail sales rose by slightly more than anticipated in the month of January. The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.2 percent in January compared to economist estimates for a 0.1 percent uptick.

Reflecting another steep drop in fuel prices, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing a notable decrease in U.S. import prices in the month of January.

The report said import prices tumbled by 1.1 percent in January, matching the revised decreased reported for December. Economists had expected import prices to slump by 1.5 percent.

The Labor Department also said export prices slid by 0.8 percent in January after plunging by 1.1 percent in the previous month. Export prices had been expected to drop by 0.6 percent.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of February, according to a report released by the University of Michigan on Friday. The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for February came in at 90.7 compared to the final January reading of 92.0.

The decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to inch up to a reading of 92.5.

Reflecting increases in retail and manufacturing inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing a modest uptick in U.S. business inventories in the month of December. The report said business inventories inched up by 0.1 percent in December after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in November. The slight increase matched economist estimates.