European Stocks Close Higher For The First Week since Mid-November

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Bull and bear , symbolic beasts of market trend
Bull and bear , symbolic beasts of market trend

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index clocked 1.1% higher provisionally, marking a 3.4% surge for the week — its best performance since mid-November.

All sectors were in the green. Basic resources were the biggest gainers with a 2.5% rise, as chemicals and energy stocks both soared around 1.9%.

Inflation in the eurozone declined for a second consecutive month in December. Headline inflation, which includes food and energy costs, came in at 9.2% year-on-year in December, according to preliminary data Friday from the European statistics agency, Eurostat.

It follows November’s headline inflation rate of 10.1%, which represented the first slight contraction in prices since June 2021.

Investors hope falling inflation will forge the path for the European Central Bank to ease its aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle and limit the continent’s economic pain.

Minutes from the last meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, published earlier this week, showed policymakers stateside were seemingly unmoved from their hawkish position as they look to bring inflation back down toward the target.