(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose, with a boost from earnings as luxury group Richemont rallied to a record following estimates-beating results. The pound edged higher after data showed the UK economy grew slightly in the first quarter, reducing the risk of recession.

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Personal-care shares led the advance in Europe, boosted by the surge in Richemont. The Swiss luxury goods maker that owns the Cartier brand said sales in China rebounded following the end of Covid Zero policies. In the US, futures contracts on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 posted modest gains. A gauge of Asian stocks slipped.

UK gross domestic product rose 0.1% from the fourth quarter, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. March’s figure showed a 0.3% contraction after no change in February and a small gain in January, which was revised up.

Investors remain focused on what major central banks will do next in their rate-hiking campaigns to quell inflation. US data Thursday showed initial jobless claims reached the highest since October 2021 while producer prices rose less than economists expected, suggesting Federal Reserve policy tightening may finally be having an effect.

Geopolitics provided a modicum of support for sentiment, after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi to ease rising tensions between the nations.

“The risk appetite of the stock market is likely to be lifted by the news of US-China meeting,” said Alvin Ngan, an analyst with Zhongtai Financial International Ltd., “Overseas-listed Chinese stocks and Chinese internet sector, of which foreign investors have relatively high exposure, are likely to get a boost.”

Much uncertainty remains, though, which is encouraging investors to look for hedges against volatility. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said “we need to finish the bank crisis,” in a Bloomberg Television interview, adding regulators should do “whatever they need to do to make it better.” He predicted more regulations were ahead for lenders.

Investors are digesting news that a meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy set for Friday will be postponed. The delay reflects progress in staff-level discussions, according to people familiar with the talks.

“It would be irrational for the US to not raise the debt ceiling,” Eva Ados, chief investment strategist for ERShares, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “This is a political game and I don’t think the market really pays attention to it.”

Elsewhere, the rand slumped to its weakest level on record against the dollar as a diplomatic row between South Africa and the US simmered, putting trade of as much as $21 billion at risk.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index is set for its fourth weekly decline on the weak US and Chinese economic data, its longest such streak since September.

Key events this week:

• US University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday

• Fed Governor Philip Jefferson and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard participate in panel discussion on monetary policy at Stanford University, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% as of 8:23 a.m. London time

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%

• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%

• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2%

• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0934

• The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 134.81 per dollar

• The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 6.9517 per dollar

• The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.2539

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 2.7% to $26,293.07

• Ether fell 2.2% to $1,757.72

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.40%

• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.25%

• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.72%

Commodities

• Brent crude fell 0.6% to $74.56 a barrel

• Spot gold fell 0.1% to $2,012.19 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

--With assistance from Mengchen Lu and Rob Verdonck.

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