Investing.com - European stocks edged higher Friday, with sentiment upbeat ahead of the delayed release of the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation statistics, as a precursor to next week’s policy-setting meeting.
At 03:10 ET (08:10 GMT), the DAX index in Germany climbed 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.1%.
U.S. inflation due ahead of Fed meeting
The U.S. Federal Reserve meets next week, and rate-cut expectations remain firm, buoying global sentiment, even after Thursday’s U.S. jobless claims fell to a three-year low, with economists saying the numbers were likely skewed by the Thanksgiving holiday.
Questions over the health of the U.S. labor market remain key for the Fed policymakers, especially after the private ADP jobs report showed a surprise decline in payrolls for November. But they will also get key data later in the session pertaining to the second half of their dual mandate, with the delayed release of the PCE deflator, even if the data is for September.
Expectations of a quarter-point cut have surged in the past two weeks, with money markets now pricing in an 88% chance of policymakers trimming their key interest rate, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
German industrial orders rise
Back in Europe, German industrial orders rose more than expected in October, rising by 1.5% on the previous month, the federal statistics office said, ahead of the expected 0.4% gain.
Despite this relatively healthy release, Germany’s economic recovery will remain subdued next year as exports struggle and global trade slows, according to a forecast by the German Economic Institute IW, released earlier Friday.
The IW forecasts Germany’s real gross domestic product to grow only slightly this year, by 0.1% after two years of contraction, before hitting 0.9% next year, marking a notable increase.
The final release of third-quarter growth in the eurozone is due for release later in the session, and is expected to confirm annual gross domestic product growth of 1.4%, with a quarterly gain of 0.2%.
The European Central Bank also meets later this month, but, unlike the Fed, is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its final meeting of the year.
Swiss Re sees higher profit next year
In the European corporate sector, Swiss Re (SIX:SRENH) forecast higher net profit for 2026 and said it would launch a buyback program of $500 million.
The Zurich-based reinsurer said Friday that it expects to achieve net profit of $4.5 billion in 2026, above the net profit of more than $4.4 billion that it expats for teh current year.
Crude gains on Russian supply concerns
Oil prices steadied Friday, maintaining the previous session’s gains as stalled diplomatic progress over the Ukraine war and firm expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut supported sentiment.
Brent futures climbed 0.1% to $63.34 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.1% to $57.69 a barrel.
Both contracts jumped nearly 1% on Thursday, and while Brent was mostly unchanged this week, WTI was on track for a 1.5% weekly gain - a second straight week of increase.
The lack of progress in U.S.-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war has dampened hopes that energy sanctions on Russian crude could be eased soon, keeping a risk premium in the market.
