European Shares Decline On Tariff Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks drifted lower on Friday as the U.S. faced a government shutdown and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump warned of potential tariffs on the European Union if the bloc does not cut its growing deficit with the United States by making large oil and gas trades with the world's largest economy.

In economic releases, the declining trend in German producer prices unexpectedly ceased in November, data from Destatis showed today.

Producer prices rose 0.1 percent year-on-year in November, reversing a 1.1 percent fall in the prior month.

Data out of U.K. showed British retail sales rose by a weaker-than-expected 0.2 percent in November as consumers hold back spending in the final months of the year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1 percent at 501.38, falling to its lowest level in nearly a month and on course for its biggest weekly decline since early September.

The German DAX fell 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 shed 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.6 percent.

Banks led losses, with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Barclays falling 2-3 percent.

Credit Agricole declined 1.6 percent after the French bank announced the acquisition of Santander's 30.5 percent stake in CACEIS, its asset servicing subsidiary.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all fell around 1 percent.

GSK edged down slightly despite reporting positive headline results from the FIRST-ENGOT-OV44 phase III trial evaluating Zejula and Jemperli in first line advanced ovarian cancer.

ITM Power jumped 4.1 percent. The energy storage and clean fuel company has secured a contract for a green hydrogen project in the EU.

Synairgen shares plummeted 37 percent. The biopharmaceutical company has announced plans to raise up to £25 million to fund the phase 2 trials of its antiviral treatment.

Idorsia shares plunged 45 percent. The Swiss pharma company announced delays to a rights deal related to its hypertension drug Tryvio.

Delivery Hero SE, a German food delivery platform, was down 1.6 percent after it appointed Marie-Anne Popp as its Chief Financial Officer from January 2025.

Automakers BMW, Mercedes Benz and Renault dropped 1-2 percent.