European stocks rebounded on Friday as oil prices and bond yields eased, offering markets some relief, although benchmark indexes still logged their worst weekly performance since July. According to Sina Finance, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed up 0.5% and fell 1.7% for the week.
A key U.S. consumer price gauge rose slightly more than expected last month, prompting swap traders to increase bets on a rate hike next week. According to Sina Finance, Benoit Peloille, chief investment officer at Natixis Wealth Management in Paris, said the data supports a Federal Reserve rate hike next week and that stocks need to know where long-term yields are headed.
Bank shares outperformed, with Banco Santander and Intesa Sanpaolo both rising more than 1%. Travel and leisure stocks also gained as Brent crude fell to about $104 a barrel. Novo Nordisk fell 3.4% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company.
European stocks have struggled since hitting record highs in August as higher energy prices revived concerns about inflation and tighter monetary policy. According to Sina Finance, Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, said next week the market will focus on how the Federal Reserve assesses the economic outlook after Friday's inflation report.