Major European Markets Close Weak For 2nd Straight Session

(RTTNews) - European stocks fell on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, amid a lack of meaningful progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks, and concerns about inflation, growth and interest rates. Energy stocks found support as oil prices climbed higher amid concerns about supply disruptions.

Oil prices climbed higher again, with the Brent crude climbing over $114 a barrel, even as U.S. President Donald Trump extended the pause on military strikes on Iran by 10 days. However, reports that the Pentagon is planning to send 10,000 more troops to the Middle East signal a possible escalation in tensions in the region.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.95%. Germany's DAX ended down 1.38%, France's CAC 40 closed 0.87% down, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.05%, while Switzerland's SMI settled with a loss of 0.57%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp to moderate losses.

Norway, Russia and Türkiye settled modestly lower.

In the UK market, Metlen Energy & Metals tumbled 8.6%. Babcock International, Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, AutoTrader Group, British Land, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Convatec Group, Entain, Pershing Square Holdings and Informa lost 2%-5%.

Lloyds Banking Group, Prudential, Marks & Spencer, Scottish Mortgage and Experian also ended notably lower.

AstraZeneca climbed nearly 3.5% after saying its experimental treatment tozorakimab met the main goal in two late-stage trials.

Endeavour Mining, Rio Tinto, Glencore, 3i Group, Tesco and Reckitt Benckiser gained 1%-2%.

In the German market, Rheinmetall, Infineon, Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines, Commerzbank, Qiagen, Siemens, RWE, Zalando, Merck, Siemens Healthineers, Adidas, Deutsche Bank and Heidelberg Materials declined sharply.

BASF and Symrise gained about 2.6% and 2.1%, respectively. Hannover Re, Munich Re and Deutsche Boerse posted modest gains.

In the French market, Schneider Electric slid 4.8%. Legrand, ArcelorMittal, STMicroelectronics, Teleperformance, Saint-Gobain, Airbus, Safran, Unibail Rodamco, Societe Generale, Kering, Hermes International, Bureau Veritas and Carrefour shed 1%-2.5%.

Perond Ricard moved up by about 8%. Edenred gained nearly 3%. Sanofi, Air Liquide, Eurofins Scientific and Renault posted moderate gains.

In economic news, data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK retail sales decreased for the first time in three months in February, though at a slower-than-expected pace.

The seasonally adjusted retail sales volume posted a monthly fall of 0.4% in February, reversing a 2% growth in January, which was the strongest growth since May 2024. The rate of increase in January was revised up from 1.8%. Economists had expected a drop of 0.7%.

Excluding automotive fuel, total retail also declined 0.4% in February after a revised 2.2% increase in the prior month. Sales were expected to fall by 0.8%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth moderated to 2.5% in February from 4.8% in January. The expected growth was 2.1%. Sales have been rising since June last year.