LONDON — European stocks closed higher on Friday, as investors monitored a fresh batch of economic data and the gathering pace of vaccinations against Covid-19.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up by about 0.6% provisionally, with media shares climbing 1.5% and tech up 1.3% as most sectors and major bourses finished in positive territory. For the week, the Stoxx 600 closed up 1%.
The mixed session comes after muted trade in Asia Pacific due to the Lunar New Year holiday.
Stateside, stocks fluctuated near record levels on Friday as Wall Street’s strong momentum to start February fizzled this week.
Back in Europe, official figures published Friday showed the U.K. economy slumped 9.9% in 2020, posting its biggest annual fall in output since modern records began.
In the final three months of 2020, however, the U.K.’s GDP (gross domestic product) rose 1%, as the country once again imposed nationwide lockdown measures to curb the spread of Covid infections.
