European Shares Rebound on French Stocks as Warsh Speech Looms
European shares rose on Friday as French stocks recovered from Thursday's selloff. The pan-European STOXX 600 index increased by 0.5% to 655.33 points at 0708 GMT, heading for a modest weekly rise after two consecutive weekly declines.
The CAC 40 in France firmed about 1.1% after sliding to a one-month low on Thursday. French lenders Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole rose between 0.8% and 1.4% after slumping the prior session due to worries over the political and fiscal outlook ahead of next spring's presidential election.
EssilorLuxottica gained 3% and topped the French blue-chip index after announcing a share buyback plan. Luxury stocks firmed by 2.3%. However, French GDP growth was revised down to flat in the second quarter from a preliminary 0.2% expansion, signaling weaker-than-expected momentum in the euro zone's second-largest economy.
The European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel will join a panel at Jackson Hole, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is expected to speak. Traders have increased their bets on ECB rate hikes as the U.S.-Iran conflict has pushed up energy prices, weighing on the STOXX 600.