Major European Markets Close Higher On Dovish Comments From ECB Officials

(RTTNews) - European markets closed mostly higher on Friday, led by gains in financial stocks after Standard Chartered reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Dovish comments by European Central Bank officials helped underpin sentiment.

ECB member Centeno suggested that the central bank should remain open to the possibility of a rate cut as early as March. Another board member Isabel Schnabel expressed confidence that inflation expectations appeared to be under control.

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.43%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX both gained 0.28%, and France's CAC 40 ended 0.7% up. Switzerland's SMI ended stronger by 0.97%.

Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.

Austria, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands and Norway ended weak, while Finland and Spain closed flat.

In the UK market, Standard Chartered shares soared over 10% after reporting an 18% jump in earnings. Despite paring some gains, the stock ended nearly 5% up. The lender also announced a $1 billion share buyback.

AstraZeneca, Ocado Group, JD Sports Fashion, Kingfisher, B&M European Value Retail, Beazley, IHG, RightMove, Anglo American Plc, HSBC Holdings, Natwest Group, Bunzl and Convatec Group gained 1 to 2%.

St. James's Place ended nearly 2.5% down. Whitbread ended 1.7% down, while BT, Centrica, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Ds Smith, Scottish Mortgage, Admiral Group, M&G and Compass Group lost 1 to 2%.

In the German market, Deutsche Boerse, Porsche, Siemens and BMW ended higher by 1.5 to 2%. SAP gained nearly 1.5%, while Merck, Volkswagen, Brenntag, Daimler Truck Holding and Deutsche Bank advanced 1 to 1.4%.

Allianz lost more than 3% after its fourth quarter profit came in slightly below expectations. Infineon drifted down 1.5%, while Siemens Energy, HeidelbergCement and Fresenius Medical Care lost 1 to 1.1%.

In Paris, Air Liquide climbed more than 2%. Capgemini, Michelin, Stellantis, Hermes International, Vinci, Edenred, Essilor, Safran, Thales and Sanofi gained 1 to 1.8%.

Kering drifted down nearly 2%. Danone, Bouygues and STMicroElectronics lost 1.4 to 1.7%, while Pernod Ricard ended lower by about 1%.

In economic news, UK consumer confidence dropped in February on weak economic conditions, survey data from GfK showed on Friday.

The consumer sentiment index fell to -21 in February from -19 in January. The score was seen at -18.

Data from Destatis showed the German economy contracted as estimated in the fourth quarter on weaker investment. Gross domestic product slid 0.3% sequentially after stagnating in the third quarter. The statistical office confirmed the preliminary estimate published on January 30.

Calendar-adjusted GDP dropped 0.2% on year, as estimated, following a 0.3% decrease in the third quarter.

Business confidence in Germany strengthened modestly in February due to less pessimism regarding the outlook, mainly in the services and trade sectors, while expectations sunk to their lowest in over three decades in the construction industry, survey data from the ifo Institute showed.

The ifo business climate index rose to 85.5 from 85.2 in January. Economists had forecast a score of 85.5.