Europe stocks climb, hitting fresh intraday high; euro zone inflation falls to three-year low

LONDON — European markets were higher on Friday, the last trading day of August, as investors considered key inflation data from across the region.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 notched a fresh intraday record high on Friday and was last 0.33% higher at 1:43 p.m. London time. Most major regional bourses and sectors were trading in the green. Media stocks fell 0.57%, while mining stocks added 0.88% and utilities rose by 0.94%.

The Stoxx 600 had recorded a winning day on Thursday, with tech stocks leading gains as investors considered artificial intelligence heavyweight Nvidia's latest quarterly earnings report which was released earlier in the week.

A series of key inflation data is slated for Friday, in both Europe and the U.S.

Euro zone inflation fell to a three-year low of 2.2% in August, according to flash figures released by statistics agency Eurostat on Friday. The reading was in line with expectations, and below July's 2.6% print.

Elsewhere, France's preliminary, EU-harmonized consumer price index came in at 2.2% for August on an annual basis, down from the 2.7% print of July, the country's statistics office said Friday. Preliminary data from Italy's statistics agency showed the harmonized CPI came in at 1.3% on an annual basis in August, less than in the previous month.

That comes after German and Spanish CPI reports released Thursday showed that inflationary pressures in the two countries are easing.

In Germany, preliminary annual headline on an EU-harmonized basis eased more than expected to 2% in August, compared with the 2.3% forecast and July's 2.6% reading. Spain's preliminary harmonized inflation came in at 2.4% for August, also lower than expected and down from than the previous month's 2.9% print.

Investors will be closely watching the data for clues about whether another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank could come in September.

Also on the data front in Europe, the final reading of the French second-quarter gross domestic product reflected 0.2% growth according to the country's national statistics office, revised down from the preliminary 0.3% figure released in July.

Stateside, data showed that the Federal Reserve's favored inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.2% in July on a monthly basis, which was in line with expectations. The data could inform the central bank's monetary policy, with many investors hoping that the Fed will start cutting interest rates when it next meets in September.

U.S. futures were last slightly higher as the data was released, after several days of choppy trading action on Wall Street this week. Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific markets climbed on Friday.