Europe midday: Stocks rise as euro trades on backfoot
Stocks are making headway, boosted by a dip in the single currency and supportive economic data.
As of 1326 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was climbing 0.46% or 1.85 points to trade at 400.24, alongside a rise of 0.43% or 57.0 points on the German Dax to 13,423.86 and an advance of 0.67% or 36.69 points for the Cac-40 to 5,523.86.
In parallel, euro/dollar was off by 0.38% to 1.1921, weighed down by an outsized fall of 0.81% in the single currency on its cross against the Japanese yen to hit 134.25, after the Bank of Japan reduced the size of its so-called reverse auctions, prompting some speculation of a move towards tighter policy.
Nonetheless, Connor Campbell, financial analyst at SpreadEx was unimpressed with the market action, telling clients: "Over in the Eurozone a super-charged German industrial production reading, which came in at 3.4% against the previous month’s -1.2% and the forecast 1.9%, couldn’t do much for the DAX, which only rose 10 or so points.
"The CAC fared better, however, jumping another half a percent to surpass 5500 for the first time since early November."
On the economic front, German industrial output jumped by 3.4% month-on-month in November, according to the Ministry of Finance, almost doubling economists' projections for a rise of 1.8%.
That robust reading came alongside figures showing a sharp 4.1% jump in the country's exports for that same month, which boosted its foreign trade surplus to €22.3bn (consensus: €20.9bn).
Separately, figures from Eurostat revealed that the unemployment rate in the single currency bloc declined from 8.8% in October to 8.7% for November, as expected.
On the corporate side of things, and following a visit by French president Emmanuel Macron to China, multiple reports indicated that Airbus was set to ramp-up output of its jets in that country.
Further south, in Spain, on Monday evening that country's market regulator gave final clearance to Italian outfit Atlantia's proposed €15.6bn takeover bid for toll-road operator Abertis.