Major European Markets Close Lower On Interest Rate Uncertainty, Geopolitical Tensions

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Friday with investors digesting German inflation data, and earnings updates. Uncertainty about interest rate cuts by central banks, and rising geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment.

Bank of England policymaker Jonathan Haskel expressed satisfaction with signs of easing inflation in Britain but stressed the need for more evidence of stability.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.09%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended down 0.3%, 0.22% and 0.24%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.42%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Turkiye closed higher.

In the UK market, Legal & General ended 3.3% following a rating downgrade. Glencore also ended more than 3% down. Fresnillo, British American Tobacco, Land Securities, Burberry Group, Anglo American Plc, Ocado Group and Prudential ended lower by 2 to 3%.

Natwest Group, Segro, HSBC Holdings, Aviva, Auto Trader Group, Haleon, Airtel Africa and Antofagasta also ended notably lower.

In the German market, Siemens, Vonovia, Brenntag, HeidelbergCement and Beiersdorf lost 1.9 to 2.9%. Porsche, RWE, BASF, Continental and Hannover Rueck also closed weak.

Infineon climbed about 1.7%. Commerzbank and Merck gained 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Covestro and Sartorius posted moderate gains.

In Paris, L'Oreal tanked nearly 8% after reporting lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales.

BNP Paribas, Engie, Veolia, Societe Generale, Carrefour, Teleperformance, Danone, Pernod Ricard, Michelin and Credit Agricole lost 1 to 2.3%.

Hermes International rallied more than 5%. STMicroElectronics and WorldLine lost 2% and 1.9%, respectively. Stellantis, Renault, Sanofi, Kering, Publicis Groupe and Essilor also ended higher.

Video games group Ubisoft soared nearly 14% after beating its sales targets in Q3.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's consumer price inflation softened to the lowest level in just over two-and-a-half years, as initially estimated in January.

The consumer price index registered an annual increase of 2.9% in January, slower than the 3.7% rise in December. That was in line with the flash data published on January 31.

Further, this was the weakest inflation rate since June 2021, when prices had risen 2.4%.