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European stocks rose on Friday as regional markets reopened after being closed for the Christmas holidays.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 The index rose 0.2% shortly after the opening bell, with most sectors and major stock markets in positive territory.

Investors are watching economic data from China, where official figures showed industrial gains in the world’s second-largest economy. contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November.

The data printing came a day after the World Bank raised its growth forecasts for China in 2024 and 2025, but warned that the country’s economy would remain under pressure, given weak business confidence and continued uncertainty in China’s troubled real estate sector.

Markets were in mixed territory overnight in Asia, as traders reacted to the latest Chinese data as well as recent inflation figures from Japan. In an update on fridayOfficial figures showed that core inflation in the city of Tokyo was 3% in November, up from 2.6% in October.

Back in Europe, Spain and Norway will release their November retail sales figures on Friday.