BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were moving higher on
Friday as investors reacted to stronger-than-expected U.K. GDP figures and
awaited a key U.S. inflation reading later in the day for clues on when interest
rates may be cut.

The British economy recovered more than initially estimated in the first
quarter, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Gross domestic product grew 0.7 percent from the fourth quarter, when the
economy shrank 0.3 percent. In the initial estimate, the rate of expansion was
0.6 percent.

With this, the country has now come out of a technical recession as the GDP
contracted in the previous two quarters.

On an annual basis, GDP advanced 0.3 percent in the March quarter, revised up
from a 0.2 percent rise estimated initially.

The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 33 points, or 0.4 percent, at 8,213 after
declining 0.6 percent on Thursday.

In corporate news, retailer JD Sports Fashion lost 4 percent after Nike, the
world's largest sportswear maker by revenue, warned sales would fall this year.



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