stock moves, UK GDP data, France budget #UKFinance

European stock markets closed higher on Friday, with the regional Stoxx 600 index up 0.53%.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.75% as France’s CAC 40 gained 0.48%. Gains were more muted for the U.K.’s FTSE 100, up 0.19%.

—Jenni Reid

The S&P 500 opened little changed Friday, but headed for a fifth consecutive winning week. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140 points, or 0.3%.

— Samantha Subin

Shares of Siemens Energy rose 3.8% to hit the top of the European benchmark on Friday afternoon after JPMorgan upgraded the German renewables firm to “neutral” from “underweight,” Reuters reported.

The Wall Street bank reportedly cited the turbine and generator maker’s strong 2024 order intake that should continue into next year.

Gold prices rose on Friday, extending recent gains as investors await U.S. Producer Price Index data on Friday.

Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,642.49 per ounce at around 12:50 p.m. London time. Gold prices climbed above the $2,600 level for the first time last month.

— Sam Meredith

Shares of auto giant Stellar fell around 3.8% on Friday, extending losses after the company announced a series of top-level management changes and said CEO Carlos Tavares would retire in 2026.

The management reshuffle comes shortly after the maker of household names such as Jeep, Dodge, Fiat and Chrysler cut its 2024 profit forecast last week, citing a deterioration in global industry dynamics.

The firm’s Milan-listed stock price has fallen more than 44% year-to-date.

Volkswagen said Friday its global deliveries dropped 7% in the third quarter as the market for European autos remains challenging.

The company’s deliveries to China fell by 15% to 711,500 units in the period of July through to September.

Shares dipped 0.8% as of 11:10 a.m. London time.

“The competitive situation in China is particularly intense, which is the main reason for the global decline in our deliveries,” said Marco Schubert, member of the firm’s extended executive committee for sales.

He added that “a better cost base, particularly in Germany, is essential to remain successful in this environment in the future.”

— April Roach

China is currently facing a “whatever it takes moment,” as it prepares to deliver new stimulus measures over the weekend, according to Sophie Huynh, senior cross asset strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

With U.S. elections on the horizon and consumer confidence at “very low” levels locally in China, the country knows it needs to do something, Huynh told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.

The focus of the fiscal package will be key, Huynh added. “Are they going to be more focused on the investment side of things, or much more focused on the demand side, where … consumer confidence is very low, so I think if there’s much more money directed towards boosting consumer demand, I think it’s going to be a good sign,” she said.

Shares of British grocery chain Sainsbury traded more than 4% lower on Friday morning, slipping to the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600.

It comes shortly after the Qatar Investment Authority, the biggest shareholder in Sainsbury’s, was said to have sold £306 million ($400 million) worth of shares in the company, Reuters reported, citing regulatory findings.

CNBC could not independently verify the report.

— Sam Meredith

France’s spending plans have been structured in a such a way that the government is seeking to avoid a damaging hit to economic growth, according to Evelyn Herrmann, Europe economist at Bank of America Global Research.

Her comments come after France on Thursday presented its 2025 budget, a package of measures that included a raft of spending cuts and tax hikes.

“I think the main point to make here is that it is really a sprinkle. It is a lot of measures [and] every measure brings in a little bit,” Herrmann told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday.

“So, there is the hope is that by doing that and by going more into perhaps the upper income groups and the particularly profitable companies — and the promise to do that temporarily — perhaps you avoid a kind of typical strong effect on growth of these measures,” she continued.

“That’s the way in which I think this government is trying to correct for the large deficit that has been building up very gradually and deliver some correction, without necessarily harming the growth element to it.”

— Sam Meredith

French drugmaker Sanofi said on Friday it has entered into discussions with U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) for the potential sale of a 50% controlling stake in its consumer health business Opella.

Sanofi did not disclose any prospective financial details and said further updates would be provided when a decision is made.

Shares of Sanofi dipped 0.4% on Friday morning.

— Sam Meredith

European stocks opened slightly lower on Friday, with most sectors in negative territory.

The pan-European Stoxx traded 0.1% lower shortly after the opening bell, with autos stocks leading the losses.

— Sam Meredith

U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said it is welcome news that growth has returned to the British economy, shortly after official data showed gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated to have expanded by 0.2% in August.

The reading, which was in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, follows a two-month period of no growth.

“It’s welcome news that growth has returned to the economy,” Reeves said in a statement.

“Growing the economy is the number one priority of this Government so we can fix the NHS, rebuild Britain, and make working people better off,” she added.

— Sam Meredith

The U.K. economy expanded by 0.2% in August, Office for National Statistics data showed Friday, meeting the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.

The data comes shortly after U.K. GDP figures showed no growth in both July and June.

— Sam Meredith

European markets are expected to open slightly higher on Friday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is poised to open 19 points higher at 8,254, Germany’s DAX 23 points higher at 19,228, France’s CAC up 15 points at 7,559 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 11 points higher at 33,943, according to data from IG.

On the data front, U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) figures for August are scheduled out around 7 a.m. London time.

— Sam Meredith