European Stocks Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday with investors largely staying on the sidelines, or taking some profits after recent record highs. In addition to digesting the latest batch of economic data, markets reacted to some earnings and other corporate updates.

Although markets found support from recent dovish comments from central banks, investors appeared keen on taking some profits.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.03%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.61% and Germany's DAX advanced 0.15%, while France's CAC 40 ended down 0.34%. Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.44%.

Among other markets in Europe, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain ended higher.

In the UK market, Phoenix Group Holdings gained nearly 8.5% after the company reported a pretax profit for 2023. The company said cash generation in 2023 was 2.024 billion pound, up from 1.504 billion pound a year earlier.

Natwest Group, WPP, Reckitt Benckiser, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Prudential, Croda International and M&G gained 2 to 3%.

Airtel Africa, M&G, Unilever, Scottish Mortgage, Smiths, Legal & General, Fresnillo and Centrica also posted strong gains.

JD Sports Fashion ended lower by more than 6%. Ocado Group, Frasers Group, Rentokil Initial, RightMove, Taylor Wimpey and DCC also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Siemens Energy surged nearly 4%. Zalando, Deutsche Post, Sartorius, Vonvoia, MTU Aero Engies and Covestro gained 1.7 to 3%. HeidelbergCement, Henkel, Deutsche Bank and Bayer also ended notably higher.

Infineon, Munich RE, Puma, Fresenius Medical Care, Qiagen, Brenntag and Hannover Rueck ended down 0.8 to 2%.

In Paris, WorldLine, Teleperformance, Edenred, Thales, Veolia, Carrefour, Dassault Systemes, Orange, Sanofi and Renault posted sharp to moderate gains.

Kering, LVMH, Air Liquide, STMicroElectronics, Legrand, Alstom, Saint Gobain and Hermes International ended weak.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK retail sales remained unchanged in February after rebounding by a revised 3.6% in January. Sales were forecast to fall 0.4%.

Excluding auto fuel, retail sales volume posted a slower monthly growth of 0.2% in February after climbing 3.4% in January.

On a yearly basis, overall retail sales fell 0.4%, in contrast to the 0.5% increase, the data showed. Sales were forecast to drop 0.7%.

UK consumer confidence stagnated in March but households turned positive about their future personal financial situation for the first time since 2021, survey results from the market research group GfK showed.

The consumer sentiment index held steady at -21 in March. The score was forecast to improve to -19.

Data released by Destatis showed Germany's import prices dropped 5.9% year-over-year in January, slower than the 7% decline in December. Prices have been falling since March 2023.

This is the first result after the conversion of import and export prices to the new base year 2021, Destatis said.

German business confidence improved in March, reports said citing survey results from the ifo Institute. The business sentiment index rose more-than-expected to 87.8 in March. The score was forecast to climb to 86.0 from February's initially estimated value of 85.5.