European markets: stocks, news and data

LONDON — European markets closed at a fresh record high Friday, as stocks tracked higher on news of China’s stimulus blitz and investors assessed fresh inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.52% higher to hit an all-time high of 528.33 points, having notched a record intraday high earlier in the session, according to LSEG data.

Chemicals stocks led the gains, adding 2.75%, while auto names rose 2.23%.

It comes after Chinese markets clocked their best week in almost 16 years, with the mainland’s CSI 300 rallying 15.7% this week. The last time the index saw a bigger weekly gain was the week ended Nov. 14, 2008.

China launched a large-scale stimulus package this week in a bid to boost growth and restore confidence in the world’s second-largest economy.

The People’s Bank of China said it is cutting its seven-day reverse repo rate to 1.5%, the second reduction in around three months, and slashed the reserve requirement ratio of financial institutions by 0.5 percentage point.

In Europe, France and Spain both published preliminary data Friday showing a sharp drop in harmonized inflation. The September readings fueled expectations that the headline inflation rate of the euro zone as a whole will reflect a steep drop to below the ECB’s 2% target.

Statistics agency Eurostat is scheduled to publish flash euro zone inflation data for September on Tuesday.

Looking at individual stock moves, shares of Italian fashion group Moncler surged almost 11%, hitting the top of the European benchmark. It comes after French luxury giant LVMH struck a deal to invest in Double R, an investment vehicle controlled by Moncler, Reuters reported. Shares of LVMH added 3.7% on the news.

Meanwhile, shares of Spanish bank Banco Sabadell closed 4.8% lower. The lender is the subject of a hostile takeover bid from larger Spanish bank, BBVA.

Speaking to CNBC’s Charlotte Reed on Thursday, Banco Sabadell CEO César González-Bueno said BBVA’s proposal is “very volatile” and offers a “completely insufficient” price. Earlier in the week, BBVA CEO Onur Genç told CNBC that the takeover was “moving according to plan.”

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were mixed as highly anticipated data showed inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.1% in August, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting all-items PCE to rise 0.1% on the month and 2.3% from a year ago.

— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.