European Stocks Turn In Mixed Performance

(RTTNews) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as investors amid uncertainty about the outlook for growth as the Trump Administration's fresh and stringent tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% levy on Chinese imports are set to commence from next week.

Investors digested a slew of earnings and economic data from the region, and the personal consumption expenditure report from Europe.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who said 25% tariffs on EU imports will be announced "very soon," while confirming 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% levy on Chinese imports, said a deal with UK could be reached without tariffs.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.01%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.61%, and France's CAC 40 crept up 0.11%. Germany's DAX came off early lows and settled flat, while Switzerland's SMI climbed 0.36%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed weak.

Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Spain ended higher.

In the UK market, Weir Group climbed 6.3% on impressive results. The company posted statutory profit before tax of 347 million pounds in fiscal 2024, up 8% from last year's 321 million pounds. On an adjusted basis, profit before tax came in at 428 million pounds, up 4% from 411 million pounds a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share climbed to 119.2 pence from 115.3 pence in fiscal 2023

IMI gained 5.81% after the company reported fiscal 2024 pretax profit of 330.4 million pounds for the year ended 31 December 2024 compared to 302.4 million pounds, last year. Earnings per share was 95.6 pence compared to 91.2 pence.

IAG ended more than 4% up. The airline holding company reported a 38% jump in fourth-quarter profit to 608 million euros, from last year's 441 million euros.

Operating profit for the quarter grew 91.4% to 961 million euros. The company has also lined up a buyback worth Euro 1 billion.

Haleon closed higher by 4.2%. Persimmon, RightMove, Barclays Group, Melrose Industries, SSE, HSBC Holdings, Beazley, Barratt Redrow, Pearson and Severn Trent also closed sharply higher.

St. James' Place ended lower by about 3.7%. Antofagasta, Scottish Mortgage, Land Securities, Howden Joinery, Polar Capital Technology, JD Sports Fashion, Coca-Cola HBC, 3i Group, Fresnillo, Anglo American Plc and Kingfisher lost 1 to 2.5%.

In the German market, MTU Aero Engines rallied 3%. Fresenius Medical Care gained about 1.7%. HeidelbergCement, Deutsche Telekom, Daimler Truck Holding, Beiersdorf, Merck and Deutsche Post gained 0.7 to 1.2%.

BASF closed higher by nearly 1%. BASF reported that fiscal 2024 net income came in at 1.3 billion euros, compared with 225 million euros in 2023. Earnings per share was 1.45 euros compared to 0.25 euros.

Allianz drifted down more than 1%, despite the firm reporting a rise in net profit in the fourth quarter. For the fourth quarter, the company posted a net income of 2.472 billion euros, higher than 2.151 billion euros recorded for the same period last year.

Puma, Infineon, Zalando, SAP, Continental, Sartorius, Porsche and Siemens Energy lost 0.9 to 2.5%.

In the French market, Pernod Ricard ended nearly 2.5% up. Saint Gobain gained about 1.9%. The building materials firm reported full-year 2024 net income of 2.844 billion euros or 5.69 euros per share, up from 2.669 billion euros or 5.26 euros per share last year.

Michelin, Air Liquide, Stellantis, Veolia, Orange and Hermes International also closed on firm note.

Teleperformance cloed down 7.6%.The call centre group's stock is down following a lower than expected guidance for 2025.

Publicis Groupe and STMIcroElectronics both ended lower by more than 2%. Essilor, Legrand, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Engie and Dassault Systemes lost 1 to 1.25%.

On the economic front, UK house prices increased more than expected in February as buyers brought forward their transactions ahead of stamp duty change in April, the Nationwide Building Society said.

House price grew at a pace of 0.4% on a monthly basis in February after a 0.1% gain in the previous month. Moreover, this was the sixth consecutive monthly increase and was also faster than forecast of 0.2%.

On a yearly basis, house prices growth softened to 3.9% from 4.1% in January. The annual growth was expected to ease more sharply to 3.4%.

Data from Destatis said retail sales in Germany rose by 0.2% month-over-month in January 2025, rebounding from a 1.6% decline in December. On a year-over-year basis, retail sales grew 2.9% in January, accelerating from an upwardly revised 2.8% increase in December.

Germany's import prices increased 3.1% year-on-year in January 2025, after rising by 2% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, import prices grew by 1.1% in January, up from a 0.4% rise in December.

Germany's consumer price inflation remained at 2.3% in February 2025, unchanged from the previous month and in line with market expectations, according to a preliminary estimate. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4% in February, following a 0.2% decrease in January.

Meanwhile, Germany's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 6.2% in February 2025, matching expectations and remaining at its highest level since October 2020.

The annual inflation rate in France slowed to 0.8% in February, the lowest since February 2021, compared to 1.7% in January, data from INSEE showed.

The French economy contracted 0.1% in the fourth quarter, confirming preliminary estimates, and reversing a 0.4% expansion in the third quarter.

On an annual basis, the economy expanded 0.6%, slightly below the flash estimate of 0.7%, marking the slowest growth since the Q4 2020 contraction. For the full year, GDP grew 1.1%, matching 2023's pace.

Meanwhile, household spending in France dropped 0.5% month-on-month in January, after rising 0.7% in December. On a yearly basis, household spending increased by 0.4% in January.