European Stocks Close On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - The major European markets ended mixed on Friday with investors taking some profits after recent gains. However, the undertone remained fairly positive in the region amid easing concerns about interest rates after dovish comments from the Federal Reserve.

The Bank of England's hawkish stance, and weak euro area service sector data weighed a bit.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.01%. Germany's DAX ended little changed, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.95%, while France's CAC 40 climbed 0.28%. Switzerland's SMI ended down 0.16%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

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

In the UK market, Entain, Spirax-Sarco Engineering and DS Smith gained 2.2 to 2.6%. Ferguson, Glencore, Anglo American Plc, BAE Systems, Rio Tinto, Berkeley Holdings, Royal Mail, Mondi, Land Securities, Scottish Mortgage, Rentokil Initial and Barratt Developments advanced 1 to 2%.

St. James's Place, Auto Trader Group, Pennon, Smith & Nephew, ICP, Hargreaves Lansdown and Rolls-Royce Holdings dropped 3 to 4.2%.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, RightMove, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, GSK, Melrose Industries, Burberry Group and Informa also declined sharply.

In the German market, Zalando and MTU Aero Engines climbed 2.75% and 2.2%, respectively. Deutsche Post, Daimler Truck Holding, Infineon, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens Energy and BMW gained 1 to 1.5%.

Symrise plunged nearly 8% after the German fragrance and flavour maker revised down its adjusted EBITDA margin target for the year.

Puma ended down by about 4%. Adidas drifted down nearly 3%. Fresenius, Henkel, E.ON and Commerzbank ended down 1 to 1.6%.

In the French market, Alstom climbed 3.6% and STMicroElectronics gained about 2.7%. Publicis Groupe, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, Capgemini and Saint Gobain ended higher by 1 to 1.5%. Kering dropped nearly 2%.

Swedish technology firm Sectra gained more than 8% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

On the economic front, final data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer price inflation eased to 3.5% in November from 4% in October. The initially estimated rate was 3.4%.

The euro area trade surplus increased in October due to the increase in exports amid falling imports, Eurostat reported. The trade surplus rose to a seasonally adjusted EUR 10.9 billion from EUR 8.7 billion in September. Exports increased 0.7 percent on month, while imports dropped 0.3%.

The euro area private sector contracted throughout the second half of the year adding to risk of recession since the third quarter, preliminary results of the purchasing managers' survey showed. The HCOB flash composite output index unexpectedly fell to 47.0 in December from 47.6 in the previous month, S&P Global said. The reading was seen at 48.0.

The UK private sector activity posted its strongest growth in six months in December, thanks to a faster recovery in the service economy, flash survey results from S&P Global showed. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply flash composite output index rose more-than-expected to 51.7 in December from 50.7 in November. The score was seen at 50.9.