Europe midday: Equities on track for positive weekly close; Nestle and Hugo Boss buck trend

European stocks rose on Friday, taking their cue from upbeat sessions in the US and Asia as investors continued to bet that central bank policy would remain accommodative.

“Positive momentum from Wall Street is making investors more confident in holding riskier assets,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade.

“This is on the back of optimism that the Fed will stay accommodative with their monetary policy and will not rush to raise the interest rate irrespective of their economic data. The US core CPI data did show some sign of stability yesterday, but the US Philly Fed manufacturing number was below expectations. This has made traders increase their long bets and hence, we had the best closing for the Dow and the S&P index yesterday since August.”

At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 were both up 0.5%.

Data released earlier showed inflation in the Eurozone remained largely stable in September.

According to the Eurostat, the Eurozone consumer price index grew 0.2% month-on-month in September, in line with analysts’ expectations and compared with a flat reading in August.

On a year-on-year basis, the index declined 0.1% compared with a 0.1% drop in August and in line with consensus.

When excluding volatile items such as energy and foods, the core CPI rose 0.9% year-on-year in September, matching the previous month's rate of growth and falling in line with analysts expectations.

“With the Eurozone-wide figure expected at -0.1%, the region’s indices could see a return of the market-lifting hopes that always seem to creep in whenever any data suggests that Mario Draghi might need to dip into his ECB QE coffers for a bit of extra stimulus,” said Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex.

On the corporate front, French retailer Carrefour rallied after posting a jump in third-quarter revenue thanks to growth in key European markets.

Remy Cointreau nudged higher after the French drinks maker's second-quarter organic sales came in better than expected.

Vodafone edged higher after striking an agreement to extend its strategic partnership with Russian mobile group MTS and expand its scope in Ukraine.

British American Tobacco was a touch higher after saying it has purchased the final necessary number of shares in Brazilian subsidiary Souza Cruz, to enable tit to take the company private in coming months.

Miner Rio Tinto nudged higher after saying it has increased production in most areas, although there were further declines in copper production.

On the downside, Swiss food company Nestle slumped after downgrading its full year outlook, while German fashion company Hugo Boss tumbled after cutting its full-year profit forecast on the back of weaker China sales.

AstraZeneca slipped into the red after the pharmaceuticals giant said the US Food and Drug Administration has asked for more clinical data to support its application for a new combination drug to treat type 2 diabetes.

Still to come on the macroeconomic front, US industrial production is at 1415 BST, while University of Michigan consumer confidence s at 1500 BST.