European Stocks Turn In Another Mixed Performance

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance for a third straight session, with investors mostly reacting to corporate earnings updates and regional economic data on Friday.

Soft inflation data from the U.S. raised optimism about some monetary easing by the Federal Reserve and prompted some buying.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.13%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.42% and Germany's DAX ended 0.25% up, while France's CAC 40 closed lower by 0.35%. Switzerland's SMI gained 0.52%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain closed weak.

Denmark, Finland, Netherlands and Russia ended higher. Sweden and Türkiye closed flat.

In the UK market, defense stocks moved higher, while banks showed weakness.

Relx soared 10%. Experian and 3i Group moved up 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Halma, Endeavour Mining, Melrose Industries, Tesco, Fresnillo and BAE Systems gained 2%-4%.

Entain ended down 4.7%. Natwest Group, Croda International, HSBC Holdings, Barclays Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Land Securities, Howden Joinery Group, Bunzl, Whitbread and British American Tobacco lost 1%-2.5%.

In the German market, Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines, Gea Group, Rheinmetall, Merck, Infineon, E.ON, BMW, SAP, Continental, Beiersdorf, Qiagen, Scout24 and Siemens Healthineers gained 1%-5.2%.

Rheinmetall moved up sharply on news about the company's automotive divestment and a €200 million NATO contract for 120mm ammunition.

Commerzbank, RWE, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and Munich RE ended with sharp losses.

In the French market, Safran zoomed more than 8% on strong revenue growth and an upward revision in future financial targets. Capgemini surged 5.6% on strong full-year revenue growth, while Eurofins Scientific, Publicis Groupe, STMicroelectronics, Saint Gobain, Renault, Airbus, Carrefour and Michelin also closed with strong gains.

Societe Generale tumbled more than 5%. L'Oreal lost about 4.7% amid somewhat disappointing sales in China in the fourth-quarter. BNP Paribas, LVMH, Sanofi, Hermes International, Dassault Systemes, AXA, Engie and EssilorLuxottica ended down by 1%-2.3%.

In economic news, the euro area economy grew at a steady pace in the fourth quarter, matching the initial estimate, flash estimates from Eurostat showed.

Gross domestic product rose 0.3% sequentially, the same rate of growth as seen in the third quarter. The rate matched the initial figure published on January 30.

Year-on-year, GDP moved up 1.3%, in line with the estimate, but weaker than the 1.4% expansion seen a quarter ago.

Further, data today showed that employment posted a stable increase of 0.2% in the fourth quarter. On a yearly basis, employment rose 0.6%, unchanged from the prior quarter.

The euro area trade surplus fell to EUR 12.6 billion in December, from EUR 13.9 billion in the previous year, a separate data from Eurostat showed. Exports increased 3.4% from the previous year, offsetting the 3.4% fall in November. Imports logged an annual growth of 4.2% in December, reversing a 1.1% fall seen a month ago.

Germany's wholesale prices logged a steady increase in January, figures from Destatis showed. The wholesale price index advanced 1.2% year-on-year in January, the same pace of increase as seen in December.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices moved up 0.9%, in contrast to December's 0.2% fall. Prices were expected to rise 0.1%.