BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Despite a weak start and a mild setback in the final hour, European stocks closed slightly higher on Friday with investors reacting to reports about negotiations over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and digesting the latest batch of economic data from the region.
The mood turned positive this morning following an announcement from US President Joe Biden and the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen about a US-EU deal to replace Russian natural gas imports by US LNG.
However, the ongoing war in Ukraine and concerns about growth due to imminent monetary tightening by the central banks forced investors to tread cautiously.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.11%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.21% and Germany's DAX moved up 0.22%, while France's CAC 40 edged down 0.03%. Switzerland's SMI closed 0.08% down.
The markets in Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain ended higher.
The Russian declined sharply. Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Sweden also closed weak, while Iceland and Turkey ended flat.
Rolls-Royce Holdings, which soared nearly 20%, was the top gainer in the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index.
British Land, Pearson, Land Securities, Pershing Square Holdings, Rentokil Initial, Imperial Brands, Segro and Diageo gained 1.8 to 3%.
HomeServe stocks ended sharply higher after Canada's Brookfield Asste Management said it was mulling a possible offer for the British home repair services provider.
Airtel Africa plunged 10%. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, B&M European Value Retail, Aveva Group, Ferguson, Fresnillo, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser and Barratt Developments ended lower by 3 to 4.5%.
Smiths Group shares declined sharply. The British engineering company reported that its first half underlying operating profit from continuing operations increased 11.1%.
In the French market, Unibail Rodamco surged up nearly 4%. ArcelorMittal gained about 3% and Publicis Groupe advanced 2.3%. Thales, Carrefour and Hermes International also ended notably higher.
Schneider Electric and Faurecia both ended more than 3% down. Sodexo, BNP Paribas, Essilor and Societe Generale lost 1 to 2%.
In Germany, Infineon Technologies moved up nearly 3%. Fresenius Medical Care gained 2.8%, while Bayer, Fresenius, MTU Aero Engines, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Adidas, Deutsche Wohnen and E.ON gained 1 to 2%.
Covestro, HelloFresh, HeidelbergCement, Siemens, BASF and Henkel lost 1 to 2.7%.
In economic releases, business confidence in Germany collapsed in March to hit a fourteen-month low, a survey showed.
The Ifo business-climate index declined to 90.8 points from 98.5 points in February due to higher energy costs and uncertainty stemming from the Ukraine conflict. This is the lowest reading since January 2021.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed U.K. retail sales volume dropped 0.3% month-on-month, in contrast to the 1.9% increase in January. Sales were forecast to climb 0.6%.
On a yearly basis, retail sales grew 7% but slower than the revised 9.4% increase logged in January and the expected 7.8% rise.
Separately, survey results from the market research group GfK revealed that U.K. consumer confidence weakened for the fourth straight month in March as the cost of living crisis deepened.
The consumer confidence index fell to -31 in March from -26 in February. All five components of the index decreased from February.
The European Central Bank said Eurozone money supply grew at a slightly slower pace in February. The broad monetary aggregate M3 grew 6.3% in February, in line with expectations, after rising 6.4% in January.
In the three months up to February, M3 growth averaged 6.6%.
As regards the dynamics of credit, the annual growth rate of total credit to euro area residents held steady at 6.2% in February. Credit to general government rose 10.7%.
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