European Markets Close Weak On Growth Concerns, Fading Fed Rate Cut Hopes

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed weak on Friday amid concerns about high tech valuations, and fading hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut next month following hawkish comments from a few central bank officials.

The US government shutdown came to an end on Thursday after President Donald Trump signed a short-term funding bill, but the mood remained cautious due to comments from the White House on Thursday that last month's jobs report and inflation data would "likely never" be released.

UK stocks fell with bond yields rising amid speculation Chancllor Rachel Reeves may backtrack on budget plans. The possibility of the Bank of England refraining from cutting interest rates due to fiscal concerns has raised concerns about fiscal and economic outlook.

The 10-year gilt yield jumped to 4.56%, while the two-year gilt yield advaned to 3.82% following the reports.

Data showing a slodwown in Chinese economy due to softening consumer demand and a deepening property downturn also weighed on sentiment.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.01%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 settled 1.11% down, Germany's DAX closed lower by 0.69% and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.76%, while Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss of 0.84%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Filand, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak, while Austrial edged higher.

In the UK market, Metlen Energy & Metals and Land Securities lost 6% and 5.2%, respectively. Kingfisher, Entain, Natwest Group, Barclays, Spirax Group, Endeavour Mining, Tesco, Lloyds Banking Group, Associated British Foods, Segro and Marks & Spencer lost 2.5 to 4%.

DCC climbed about 1.7%. WPP gained 0.65%, while Burberry Group and AstraZeneca posted modest gains.

In the German market, Bayer ended more than 5% down. Commerzbank, Merck, Deutsche Bank, SAP and Zalando lost 3 to 3.3%.

Scout24, Rheinmetall, MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Symrise, BASF, Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Post, Volkswagen, Henkel and Fresenius Medical Care also ended notably lower.

Siemens Energy soared nearly 10%. Siemens Energy reported that its net income attributable to shareholders of the company for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 was 168 million euros or 0.19 euros per share compared to a loss of 292 million euros or 0.34 euros per share in the prior year.

Siemens gained 1.4%, while Siemens Healthineers gained about 1%.

Allianz closed up by nearly 1% after reporting third-quarter net income of 2.85 billion euros, up 15% compared to 2.47 billion euros last year.

In the French market, Stellantis, Veolia Environment, Societe Generale, Carrefour, Orange, Edenred, Michelin, Thales, Renault, Airbus, Unibail Rodamco and Saint Gobain lost 1.3 to 2.1%.

Data from INSEE showed the annual inflation rate in France was revised lower to 0.9% in October from a preliminary estimate of 1% and compared to 1.2% in September. Compared to September, the CPI edged up 0.1%, following a 1% drop. Meanwhile, annual core inflation slowed to 1.2% from 1.3%.