European Markets Close Higher As Stocks Recover After Cautious Start

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Friday, and several markets in the region climbed to fresh highs, with investors reacting to the interest rate decisions by major central banks. Expectations of more monetary easing by the Federal Reserve contributed as well to the positive mood in the markets.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.37%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.61% and Germany's DAX ended 0.37% up, while France's CAC 40 edged up 0.01%. Switzerland's SMI ended with a gain of 0.27%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden closed higher.

Russia ended weak, while Austria and Turkiye closed flat.

In the UK market, Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo and Rolls-Royce Holdings gained 3.2%, 2.85% and 2.3%, respectively.

Melrose Industries, Spirax Group, Shell, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, HSBC Holdings, Babcock International, Admiral Group, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Airtel Africa, Barclays and DCC gained 1.2 to 2%.

Barratt Redrow, JD Sports Fashion and Persimmon ended down by 2.3 to 2.7%. Berkeley Group Holdings, Marks & Spencer, Whitbread, Auto Trader Group, WPP, Bunzl, BT Group and British American Tobacco closed lower by 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Commerzbank, MTU Aero ENgines, Bayer, RWE, Hannover Rueck, Munich RE, Allianz and Rheinmetall gained 1 to 2.3%.

Zalando drifted down by about 2.7%. Adidas, Scout24, Siemens Healthineers, Daimler Truck Holding and Vonovia ended with moderate losses.

Puma settled notably lower, weighed down by a sell-off in Nike. Although Nike beat forecasts with its fiscal second-quarter earnings, weakness in the Chinese market and the persistent impact of the Trump administration's tariff regime hurt the counter.

In the French market, Engie, STMicroElectronics, Safran, Accor, Schneider Electric, Societe Generale and Airbus gained 1 to 1.7%.

Renault climbed 1.3% following a rating upgrade. S&P Global upgraded the company's credit rating to BBB- from BB+, with a stable outlook.

Hermes International, Kering, ArcelorMittal, Capgemini, L'Oreal, Stellantis and Pernod Ricard lost 1 to 2%.

In economic news, monthly survey data published jointly by NIQ/GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed German consumer confidence is set to drop at the start of the year 2026 as rising inflation fears weigh on income expectations and purchase decisions.

The forward-looking consumer confidence index fell to -26.9 in January from revised -23.4 in December, missing the expected score of -23.0.

In December, economic expectations stagnated, while income expectations and willingness to buy declined. The willingness to save increased significantly by five points to 18.7, which was the highest since June 2008.

Experts expect the German economy to expand 1 percent or slightly less in 2026.

Data from the statistical office INSEE showed French domestic producer prices rose 1.1% month-over-month in November, after stalling in the previous period. On an annual basis, the decline in producer prices intensified, dropping 3.3%, the largest fall since December 2024, compared with a 0.8% fall in October.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK retail sales dropped unexpectedly in November as the Black Friday shopping event had a slightly weaker impact than usual.

Retail sales dropped marginally by 0.1% in November from a month ago. The decline confounded expectations for an increase of 0.3% but this was slower than October's 0.9% decrease.

Excluding auto fuel, retail sales slid 0.2% after falling 0.8% in the previous month. Economists were expecting a monthly growth of 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales logged a steady growth of 0.6% in November. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales growth eased to 1.2% from 1.6% in the prior month.

Survey data from the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions today showed that consumer sentiment improved in December. The consumer confidence index rose to -17 from -19 in the previous month. The reading was the highest since August 2024.

The UK budget deficit hit the lowest for the month of November in four years, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday.

Public sector net borrowing decreased to GBP 11.7 billion in November from GBP 13.6 billion in the previous year. This was the lowest November borrowing since 2021.