European Stocks Closed On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors digesting a slew of economic data from the region, and earnings announcements and other corporate news.

Geopolitical news was in focus as well, and the mood in most of the markets remained somewhat cautious amid lingering concerns about workforce disruption due to artificial-intelligence related layoffs.

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.19%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.59%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.09%, and France's CAC 40 ended down by 0.47%. Switzerland's SMI closed up by 0.72%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Spain and Türkiye ended weak.

Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia closed Sweden notably higher, while Belgium, Denmark and Portugal edged up marginally.

In the UK market, RightMove gained about 4.3%.

Diageo, BT Group, LSEG, Fresnillo, Haleon, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Airtel Africa, Relx, Endeavour Mining, Howden Joinery Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Smiths Group, Glencore, Next, Beazley, Centrica and Shell gained 1.7%-5%.

Melrose Industries plunged 11.6% after it forecast 2026 revenue below expectations.

IAG shed about 7.4%. The stock moved up sharply earlier in the session after the company issued a positive outlook and announced a 1.5 billion euro repurchase plan.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Barclays, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Entain, Easyjet, Burberry Group, Lloyds Banking Group, ICG and Metlen Energy & Metals lost 2%-4.3%.

In the German market, Scout24 climbed nearly 4.5%. Deutsche Telekom moved up 3.7% and Deutsche Boerse gained nearly 3%.

Merck, Symrise, Vonovia, Munich RE, Qiagen, Beiersdorf, Hannover Rueck, Daimler Truck Holding, Gea Group and Siemens Energy also posted strong gains.

BASF declined sharply after the company forecast flat earnings this year. Delivery Hero ended sharply lower after reporting annual gross merchandise value (GMV) slightly below market expectations.

Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Addas, Continental, Infineon and MTU Aero Engines also closed notably lower.

In the French market, Pernod Ricard, Stellantis, Capgemini, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Sanofi, AXA, Orange, Veolia Environment, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Michelin and Bouygues closed notably higher.

EssilorLuxottica shed about 5.5%. Societe Generale, STMicroelectronics, Credit Agricole, Engie, Safran, Airbus and Accor ended lower by 1%-2%.

Preliminary data showed Germany's import prices rose at a faster than expected pace in January but remained lower in year-on-year comparison due to the steep fall in energy prices, a report from the statistical office Destatis said.

The import price index rose 1.1% month-on-month, same as in December, data showed. Economists had expected an increase of 0.6%. This was the largest month-on-month increase recorded since January 2025, which was also 1.1%, the statistical office said.

Import prices fell 2.3% year-on-year, same as in December.

In January, energy prices slumped 21.1% year-on-year but rose 3.5% from the previous month.

Germany's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% in February 2026, underscoring the continued strain from three years of economic weakness on Europe's largest labor market. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, unemployment fell by 14,700 to 3.07 million, easing from January's near 12-year high of 3.08 million.

INSEE said France's annual inflation rate accelerated to 1% in February 2026, up from 0.3% in January which was the lowest reading since December 2020, according to preliminary estimates. Compared to the previous month, the CPI went up 0.7%, the most in two years, after a 0.3% gain in January.

France's economy expanded 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2025, easing from 0.5% in Q3 and confirming preliminary estimates, a separate report from INSEE showed. This marked the softest quarterly growth in three quarters. On an annual basis, GDP expanded 1.2%, higher than initial data of 1.1% and the strongest since Q1 2024, picking up from 1% in Q3. For the full year 2025, the French economy grew 0.9%, slowing from 1.1% in 2024.

Meanwhile, French domestic producer prices rose by 0.5% month-on-month in January 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in the previous month. This marked the fourth straight month of growth. On an annual basis, the decline in producer prices intensified, dropping 2.3%, the sharpest since December 2024, compared with a 1.9% fall in December.

Non Farm Payrolls in France increased by 27073 thousand in December of 2025, another data from INSEE showed.

The U.K. consumer confidence index fell to a three-month low or -19 in February, from -16 in January, the Consumer Confidence Barometer survey by the GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) revealed. Economists had expected a mild increase to -15.