BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The major European stock markets managed to claw back much of their losses after opening sharply lower on Friday but still finished modestly in the red.
European stocks posted their first weekly loss in eight weeks as investors focused on euro area consumer and producer inflation reports as well as U.S. non-farm payrolls data for guidance on possible interest rate cuts.
Fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict also dented investor sentiment.
Germany's DAX slipped 23.08 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 16,594.21, while London's FTSE shed 33.46 points or 0.43 percent to close at 7,689.61 and the CAC 40 in France fell 29.94 points or 0.40 percent to end at 7,420.69.
In Germany, BASF tumbled 1.88 percent, while Zalando retreated 1.63 percent, Vonovia declined 1.20 percent, Siemens Energy climbed 1.10 percent, Volkswagen advanced 0.84 percent, Deutsche Borse added 0.68 percent, Infineon Technologies gained 0.63 percent, Deutsche Bank collected 0.38 percent, Fresenius lost 0.24 percent and Deutsche Telekom eased 0.13 percent.
In London, RS Group plunged 3.30 percent, while Centrica rallied 2.95 percent, Prudential tanked 1.77 percent, Rightmove dropped 1.47 percent, Experian improved 1.34 percent, Scottish Mortgage and Smiths Group both slumped 1.10 percent, Shell sank 0.91 percent, SSE added 0.65 percent, Tesco slumped 0.50 percent, Rolls-Royce lost 0.40 percent and Haleon rose 0.36 percent.
In France, Pernod Ricard plummeted 3,57 percent, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain stumbled 1.30 percent, Vivendi jumped 1.11 percent, Engie climbed 1.00 percent, Atos dropped 0.85 percent, Credit Agricole increased 0.84 percent, Accor sank 0.72 percent, Sanofi added 0.70 percent, Orange gained 0.49 percent, Societe Generale rose 0.43 percent and BNP Paribas perked 0.14 percent.
In economic news, Euro area consumer price inflation rose in December while the core measure remained strong despite slowing slightly, underpinning the European Central Bank's policy stance that it is too early to think of interest rate cuts. The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 2.9 percent year-on-year following a 2.4 percent increase in November.
Germany's retail sales declined more than expected in November after recovering in the previous month, preliminary data from Destatis revealed on Friday. In real terms, retail sales fell 2.5 percent on month, reversing a 1.3 percent rise in October. It was the biggest decline since April 2022, when sales had fallen 3.3 percent.
Italy's consumer price inflation eased further in December to the lowest level in nearly three years, data from the statistical office, ISTAT, showed on Friday. The consumer price index rose 0.6 percent year-over-year in December, slightly slower than the 0.7 percent gain in the previous month. This was the weakest inflation since February 2021, when prices had risen 0.6 percent.
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