The UK market is moderately higher in early afternoon trading Friday, as better-than-expected economic data from Germany and France boosted sentiment.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chippers is losing 0.09 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.08 percent.
The FTSE 100 index opened at 5,944 and has been seeing gains. The index is currently adding 0.74 percent.
Among precious metals miners, Fresnillo is adding 2.2 percent and Randgold Resources is rising about 2 percent.
Eurasian Natural Resources, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and BHP Billiton are gaining between 2.1 percent and 1.5 percent.
Utility Centrica is rising 1.6 percent, as Deutsche Bank reportedly upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Hold."
Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings are adding 0.8 percent each. Barclays is up 0.5 percent.
Outside the main index, London Stock Exchange is adding 3.35 percent after reporting a rise in full-year profit.
Retailer Next is declining 1.7 percent. Marks & Spencer and Kingfisher are falling 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is advancing 0.22 percent and the French CAC 40 is adding 0.50 percent. Switzerland's SMI is rising 0.31 percent.
In economic news, Germany's economic growth rebounded more than expected in the first quarter, underpinned by robust domestic demand. The French GDP growth also exceeded expectations, logging its biggest expansion since the second quarter of 2006. First-quarter GDP growth topped expectations in eurozone too.
Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets ended higher. Australia's All Ordinaries added 0.22 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.98 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.88 percent. Japan's benchmark index Nikkei 225, however, lost 0.70 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a slightly higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading day, recovering from early weakness. Stocks benefited from a rebound in commodities prices, which moved back to the upside after falling sharply in early trading. The Dow closed up 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.5 percent.
Among commodities, crude for June delivery is adding $1.13 to $100.10 per barrel and June gold is rising $6.5 to $1513.3 a troy ounce.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.