Major European Markets Close Roughly Flat After Lackluster Session

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed little changed on Friday after a lackluster session as investors refrained from making big moves. Persisting concerns about Middle East tensions and possibility of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank rendered the mood cautious.

Stronger than expected U.S. nonfarm payroll employment data has raised the possibility of an interest rate hike from the Fed at its upcoming meeting. The European Central Bank is also widely expected to tighten its monetary policy.

Among the major markets, the UK and France closed roughly flat, with the FTSE 100 settling close previous finishing mark and Germany edging down 0.09%. Germany's DAX climbed 0.17%. Switzerland's SMI finished 0.01% up. The pan European Stoxx 600 ended with a gain of 0.12%. The DAX and CAC 40 shed about 2% and 1.3%, respectively, in the week, while the FTSE 100 edged marginally down.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed higher today.

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway and Portugal ended weak, while Iceland closed flat.

In the UK market, Computacenter surged more than 4%. Kingfisher climbed 3.3% and Vodafone Group gained 2.7%, while Polar Capital Technology Trust ended 2.1% up.

M&G, Associated British Foods, Tesco, Spirax Group, Investec, Sainsbury (J), Melrose Industries, Weir, Smith & Nephew, Legal & General, SSE, HSBC Holdings, IAG, Games Workshop, Centrica and Smiths Group also closed notably higher.

Experian shed about 4.4%. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Relx, 3i Group, IG Group Holdings, The Sage Group, Prudential, Haleon, AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Imperial Brands and GSK closed lower by 1%-2.3%.

In the German market, Volkswagen rallied 6.5%. The automotive major announced its plan to cut another 50,000 jobs as part of its transformation program 'Future Plan 2030' with 12 initiatives, for significant cost savings and sustainable improvement in profitability.

Volkswagen also said said that it would half its model portfolio by 2035, aiming for more resilient and competitive operations under demanding market conditions, and added it will invest a three-figure billion sum over the coming years.

Porsche Automobil Holding jumped 3.6% and Zalando moved up 3%. Infineon advanced nearly 2.5%.

Continental, Heidelberg Materials, BMW, Fresenius Medical Care, Mercedes-Benz, Henkel and Commerzbank gained 1%-2%.

Rheinmetall shed more than 3%. Merck, Fresenius, Deutsche Telekom, Symrise, Hannover RE and Bayer closed lower by 1%-1.5%.

In the French market, Legrand climbed 3.3%. STMicroelectronics, Accor and ArcelorMittal gained 2.4%-2.7%.

Edenred, Stellantis, L'Oreal, Renault, Airbus, Engie, Michelin, Vinci and Bouygues also closed notably higher.

Dassault Systemes ended more than 6% down. Capgemini shed more than 3%. Publicis Groupe, TotalEnergies, EssilorLuxottica, Hermes International, Teleperformance and Air Liquide also declined sharply.

Data from Destatis showed Germany's factory orders grew more than expected in July, reflecting the strong order growth in the manufacture of ships, railway rolling stock and aircraft. Factory orders increased 2.5% on a monthly basis in July but slower than the revised 3.7% expansion seen in June. Orders were expected to rise 0.3%.

Germany's construction sector downturn moderated notably in August amid a fresh growth in commercial activity. The construction purchasing managers' index climbed to 48.7 in August from 42.1 in July, data showed.

Data from S&P Global showed France Construction PMI slipped to 37.3 in August from 41.5 in July, the sharpest drop since May 2020. The report said activity fell across all three construction categories, with residential and commercial construction recording the largest declines.

Data from S&P Global showed the UK Construction PMI eased to 44.3 in August from 44.7 in the previous month, missing expectations of 45.5. The residential work index slumped to 37.6, while civil engineering activity dropped to 40.5 and commercial construction activity fell to 47.8, the data showed.