European stocks ended slightly higher on Friday to post their best annual gain since 2021 on hopes that global central banks led by the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next year.
Regional volumes remained light on the last trading day of the year, with investors securing a bit of window dressing ahead of the New Year holiday.
For the day, Germany's DAX gained 50.09 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 16,751.64, while the FTSE in London rose 10.50 points or 0.14 percent to close at 7,733.24 and the CAC 40 in France perked 8.02 points or 0.11 percent to end at 7,543.18.
In Germany, Zalando spiked 1.85 percent, while Siemans Energy jumped 1.69 percent, Vonovia slumped 1.07 percent, Fresenius SE dropped 1.02 percent, Deutche Borse advanced 0.97 percent, Deutsche Telekom and MTU Aero both gained 0.62 percent, Deutsche Bank collected 0.44 percent, Infineon Technologies added 0.36 percent and Volkswagen slid 0.32 percent.
In London, Antofagasta retreated 1.64 percent, while Prudential climbed 1.02 percent, M&G sank 1.02 percent, Shell advanced 0.88 percent, BAE Systems added 0.82 percent, Haleon shed 0.57 percent, Rolls-Royce improved 0.54 percent, Tesco gained 0.52 percent, Centrica lost 0.50 percent and Vodafone rose 0.37 percent.
In France, Atos tumbled 1.70 percent, while Sanofi rallied 0.56 percent, Wordline declined 0.54 percent, Veolia Environment slid 0.31 percent, Engie eased 0.26 percent, BNP Paribas collected 0.22 percent, Vivendi perked 0.19 percent, Credit Agricole dipped 0.05 percent and Societe Generale was down 0.04 percent.
In economic news, Spain consumer price inflation unexpectedly slowed in December the statistical office INE revealed on Friday. Consumer price inflation softened to 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent in the previous month, while the rate was expected to climb to 3.4 percent.
The Netherlands' retail sales expanded at a slower pace in November, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Retail turnover grew 3.2 percent annually in November, slower than the 4.7 percent increase in October. Sales have been rising since March 2021.
Austria's producer prices decreased for the fifth successive month in November, largely due to cheaper energy costs, Statistics Austria said on Friday. The producer price index dropped 2.8 percent year-over-year in November, slower than the 3.9 percent increase in October.
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