European stocks inched higher on Friday after European Central Bank policymaker Yannis Stournaras said he sees three rate cuts in 2024.
Stournaras reportedly said in an interview that three rate cuts in 2024 is the more likely scenario after considering recent growth and inflation data.
A slew of encouraging earnings updates and signs of improvement in U.K. services growth also helped underpin investor sentiment.
The U.K. service sector expanded at the quickest pace in nearly a year, spurred by a renewed strengthening of order books, final data from S&P Global showed.
The services purchasing managers' index rose to 55.0 in April from 53.1 in March. That was also above the flash score of 54.9.
Investors shrugged off separate data showing that France's industrial production declined unexpectedly in March after rebounding in the previous month.
The pan European STOXX 600 edged up 0.3 percent to 504.83 after closing 0.2 percent lower on Thursday.
The German DAX rose 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 added 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent.
In corporate news, Germany's household and personal products business Henkel AG & Co. KGaA jumped 7.4 percent after raising its sales and earnings outlook for 2024.
Daimler Truck Holding slumped 5 percent after reporting a decline in Q1 global sales.
Krones, a packaging and bottling machine maker, declined 1.6 percent despite posting higher Q1 profit and confirming its FY24 outlook.
Credit Agricole, France's second-biggest listed bank, climbed 3.6 percent after posting a forecast-beating 55 percent jump in first-quarter net profit.
Rival Societe Generale soared 4.4 percent as it backed guidance after reporting a smaller-than-expected 22 percent slide in first-quarter net income.
Anglo American jumped more than 3 percent in London after reports that commodities group Glencore was considering a rival bid for the mining giant.
Trainline, which runs a digital platform for buying rail and bus tickets, soared 8 percent after annual earnings rose and the company announced it would start buying back more shares over the course of 12 months.
Publishing company Future rallied 2.7 percent after appointing Sharjeel Suleman as its CFO.
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