Europe stocks in green as China’s GDP grows as expected; Stoxx 600 hit records high

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally up by 0.9%, having notched a fresh record high earlier in the day. Basic resources stocks jumped over 2% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory.

The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, its slowest in 29 years but meeting analyst expectations even amid the protracted trade war with the U.S., which reached a truce this week after Washington and Beijing signed an initial “phase one” trade deal.

On Wall Street, stocks were mostly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up by around 30 points, while the S&P 500 also inched higher and the Nasdaq was barely changed.

In corporate news, Swiss luxury goods giant Richemont on Friday reported a slowdown in sales growth as political unrest in Hong Kong weighed on its fourth-quarter turnover. Richemont shares climbed 5.3% as markets took heart from strong Chinese sales which offset Hong Kong headwinds.

Figures published Friday revealed that euro zone inflation picked up slightly in December, with headline inflation coming in at 1.3% from 1.0% in November.

Although well below the European Central Bank’s 2% target, the marginal upward momentum may decrease the possibility of further monetary policy easing from the central bank in the immediate future.