Chinese Growth Boosts European Stock Market

As of 17:30 GMT+8 (09:30 UTC) on January 17, European stock markets recorded significant gains,Germany's DAX index climbed 1.12%, France's CAC 40 rose 1.00%, and the UK's FTSE 100 increased by 0.92%.

 

Earlier that day, China announced its economic data for 2024. The country's GDP grew by 5.4% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year, beating analysts' expectations and marking the fastest growth since Q2 2023. For the entire year, China’s economy expanded by 5.0%, meeting the government's annual target of around 5%. As a major export market for European corporations, China's robust growth is likely to provide a much-needed boost to European economies.

 

In contrast, the UK reported an unexpected decline in December retail sales, with a month-on-month drop of 0.3% following a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in November. Hannah Finselbach, a senior statistician at the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), stated, “This was driven by a particularly weak month for food sales, which fell to their lowest level since 2013, with supermarkets being significantly impacted.”

 

Meanwhile, the final reading of December eurozone consumer inflation is expected later in the day, drawing attention from investors.