European Stocks Close Lower On Growth Worries Following Trump's Tariff Moves

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Friday, continued to be weighed down by concerns about global economic growth following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement, and none too encouraging U.S. economic data, including a reading on core PCE price index.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.77%. Germany's DAX closed down 0.96% and France's CAC 40 settled lower by 0.93%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.08%. Switzerland's SMI drifted down 0.21%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed with sharp to moderate losses.

Portugal and Turkiye bucked the trend and closed higher.

In the UK market, Melrose Industries closed down 4.63%. IAG, Entain, Barclays, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Anglo American Plc., Easyjet, Antofagasta, BP, Rio Tinto, Scottish Mortgage and Natwest Group also declined sharply.

SSE climbed 3.85%. National Grid and United Utilities closed lower by about 2.8%. Severn Trent, Croda International, Segro, Land Securities, Haleon, Endeavour Mining, Persimmon, Coca-Cola, Unite Group, Marks & Spencer and Imperial Brands gained 1.8 to 2.5%.

In the German market, Commerzbank tumbled more than 5%. Siemens Energy ended down 4.8%, while Infineon and Puma closed lower by about 3.8% and 3.6%, respectively.

Deutsche Bank, MTU Aero Engines, Rheinmetall, Volkswagen, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Continental, Zalando, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz closed lower by 1.5 to 3%.

Symrise, E.ON, Vonovia, Deutsche Telekom, Merck, Fresenius Medical Care and Deutsche Boerse gained 1 to 2.5%.

In Paris, Stellantis, Schneider Electric, Renault, ArcelorMittal, STMicroElectronics and Accor closed down 3 to 4%.

TotalEnergies, Dassault Systemes, Societe Generale, Saint Gobain, BNP Paribas, Thales, Hermes International, Edenred, Airbus Group, Legrand, Capgemini, Kering, Safran and Credit Agricole lost 1 to 2.3%.

Pernod Ricard climbed about 3%. Sanofi, L'Oreal, Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific and Vivendi gained 1 to 1.3%.

On the economic front, data from the Office for National Statistics said the UK's gross domestic product edged up 0.1% sequentially in the fourth quarter after remaining flat in the third quarter, confirming the initial estimate.

On a yearly basis, economic growth was revised up to 1.5% from 1.4%.

The ONS upwardly revised GDP growth for the whole year of 2024 to 1.1% from 0.9%. This followed an unrevised increase of 0.4% in 2023.

Earlier this week, the Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded its growth projection for 2025 to 1% from 2%.

Meanwhile, overall retail sales logged a 1% monthly growth after rising 1.4% in January, the ONS said in a separate communiqué. Sales were forecast to fall 0.3%.

Another data showed that the UK visible trade gap widened to GBP 17.8 billion from GBP 17.4 billion in December. At the same time, the total trade deficit dropped to GBP 2.6 billion from GBP 2.8 billion in the previous month due to an increase in services surplus.

Data from statistical office INSEE showed the annual inflation rate in France remained unchanged at 0.8% in March, staying at its lowest level since February 2021, according to preliminary estimates.

Consumer prices in France rose 0.2% month-on-month in March 2025, following a period of stagnation.

The EU-harmonised annual inflation rate in France was unchanged at 0.9% in March 2025, the same as in February and below forecasts of 1.1%, preliminary estimates showed. The EU-harmonised CPI in France increased 0.2% month-over-month in March 2025, compared to 0.1% in February and forecasts of 0.3%, preliminary estimates showed.

Data showed that producer prices in France fell 0.8% in February, after a 0.6% rise in January.

A closely watch survey from GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions showed German consumer sentiment is set to rise only marginally heading into April despite a revival in expectations regarding the economy after the new elections.

The forward-looking consumer climate index rose to -24.5 in April from -24.6 in March, the survey said. On hopes of economic recovery, economic expectations improved noticeably in March. The index gained 5.7 points to 6.9 in March.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Germany edged up to 6.3% in March, the highest level since September 2020, compared to 6.2% in February.

Eurozone economic confidence weakened unexpectedly in March to a three-month low reflecting lower confidence in services, retail trade and among consumers, survey data from the European Commission revealed Friday.

The economic sentiment index registered 95.2 in March, down from 96.3 in February. The score was forecast to rise to 97.0. Moreover, this was the lowest score since December.