European Stocks Close Week On Positive Note

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed higher on Friday thanks to easing trade tensions following the announcement of the U.S.-China deal earlier in the week, and reports that the EU bloc's talks with the U.S. for a reduction in tariffs are making positive progress.

Investors also assessed the likely interest rate moves by central banks in upcoming meetings.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned in a speech on Thursday that near- zero interest rates are likely to be a thing of the past, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks could goose inflation higher and present a "difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks."

In Europe, Latvian ECB Governing Council member Martins Kazaks indicated market pricing of a 25bps cut at the June 5 meeting is "relatively appropriate".

The pan European Stoxx 600 closed 0.42% higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 0.59% up, at more than a month high. Germany's DAX climbed 0.3% to a fresh record closing high, and France's CAC 40 settled at an over 1-month high, gaining 0.42%. Switzerland's SMI finished stronger by 0.88%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.

Denmark, Ireland and Poland ended weak, while Sweden closed flat.

In the UK market, British American Tobacco gained about 3.5%. B&M European Value Retail, GSK, Scottish Mortgage, F&C Investment Trust, AstraZeneca, Pershing Square Holdings, JD Sports Fashion, Natwest Group, Vodafone Group, United Utilities and National Grid gained 1.4 to 2.5%.

BP, Barratt Redrow, Imperial Brands, Taylor Wimpey and Admiral Group also ended notably higher.

Anglo American Plc shares closed more than 3% down. Melrose Industries, Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Glencore, Kingfisher, Endeavour Mining and Croda International also ended notably lower.

Workspace Group shares closed down nearly 6.5% as the landlord foresees a trading profit headwind of approximately £7 million by March 2026.

Shares of video game developer Everplay Group ended 0.7% down, coming off early lows. The company announced today that its CEO Steve Bell has stepped down, and Frank Sagnier has stepped in as Interim Executive Chair, effective immediately.

In Germany, Rheinmetall climbed nearly 2.5%. Deutsche Boerse, Vonovia, Deutsche Telekom, Fresenius, Qiagen, SAP, Fresenius Medical Care, Symrise and Siemens Healthineers gained 1 to 1.5%.

E.ON, BASF, Porsche, Heidelberg Materials, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Truck Holding, Infineon and Commerzbank closed weak.

In the French market, Essilor gained about 3%. Sanofi moved up more than 2%, while Thales, Kering, Orange, Danone and Eurofins Scientific gained 1 to 1.6%.

Capgemini, ArcelorMittal, Publicis Groupe, Teleperformance, L'Oreal and LVMH ended notably lower.

In economic news, France's jobless rate rose marginally in the first quarter, the statistical office INSEE reported.

The ILO unemployment rate stood at 7.4%, up from 7.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The rate matched economists' expectations. The number of unemployed people increased 64,000 from the previous quarter to 2.4 million.