Europe open: Shares up as UK GDP rises; Eyes on US data later

(Sharecast News) - European shares were higher at the open on Friday as investors digested stronger-than-expected UK GDP figures and awaited US inflation figures later in the day. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2% to 513. France's CAC 40 was down 0.49% at 7,493 as polls continued to show a first-round national election win for far-right parties.

Investors now look towards the US for the personal consumption expenditure index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure - for any clues on when interest rates may be cut.

In the UK gross domestic product grew by 0.7% in the first quarter, up from an initial estimate of 0.6% growth. This follows 0.1% and 0.3% contractions in the third and fourth quarters of last year, respectively.

In equity news, Nokia was higher after the Finnish telecoms giant said it was buying Infinera Corp in a deal with an enterprise value of $2.3bn.

UK retailer JD Sports topped the fallers after US sportswear giant Nike forecast a surprise drop in 2025 revenue.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com