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European markets close with gains in Friday's session despite weak China data
European shares closed higher on Friday, paring some of this week's losses after weaker-than-expected data from China fueled fears of a global economic recession.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index rose 1.8% at the close, with auto stocks jumping 4% to lead the gains.
Shares of German Uniper jumped 6% after Fortum, the largest owner of Uniper in Finland, said it had to consider all options to ensure the security of European energy markets.
Uniper was the first German energy company to sound the alarm about high energy bills due to reduced Russian gas supplies, and last week asked the German government for a bailout.
At the top of the European benchmark, Swedish IVF product maker Vitrolife rose more than 15% after reporting strong earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
Shares of Swedish engineering company Sweco fell more than 16% and national Medtech Inc. AddLife fell 10% after its second-quarter results.
This week, the Bank of Canada surprised the markets with a full percentage rate hike, while central banks in South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines took action to tighten monetary policy to tackle high inflation.
