The majority of stock indexes of the largest Western European countries are down on Friday, investors are assessing European statistical data and waiting for data on inflation in the United States.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.18% to 545.33 points by 12:28 Moscow time.
German indicator DAX lost 0.58%, French CAC 40 – 0.39%, Italian FTSE MIB – 0.48%, Spanish IBEX 35 – 0.44%. The British FTSE 100 added 0.07 per cent.
The UK economy expanded by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its final data report. The data matched both the preliminary estimate and analysts’ consensus forecast by Trading Economics
UK retail sales in February rose 1 per cent on the previous month. Analysts on average had forecast a 0.3% decline.
Consumer prices in France, harmonised to European Union standards, rose 0.9% year-on-year in March, according to preliminary data. Inflation remained at February’s level, which was the lowest in four years, while the consensus forecast called for an acceleration to 1.1 per cent.
Consumer spending in France fell 0.1 per cent in February from the previous month, although experts had expected a 0.3 per cent increase.
In Spain, inflation slowed to 2.2% from 2.9%. The indicator became the lowest since October.
Unemployment in Germany in March increased to the highest since September 2020 6.3% from 6.2% a month earlier, reported the Federal Employment Agency of Germany. Economists were not expecting a change in the figure.
Later on Friday, the February reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index excluding food and energy (PCE Core Index), a key inflation gauge for the Federal Reserve, will be released. Analysts forecast that the growth of the index in annual terms accelerated to 2.7% from 2.6% in January.
Quotes of shares of Deutsche Bank AG declines by 2.7%. Germany’s largest bank extended the contract of Chief Executive Officer Christian Seving for three years, until April 2029, while Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke notified the bank that he does not intend to extend the contract, which expires in June 2026.
Raja Akram, who has been deputy CFO at Morgan Stanley since 2020, will be Deutsche Bank’s new CFO. Akram will join the bank’s team on 1 October this year, join its board of governors from January 1, 2026 and become CFO after a transition period, the statement said. The security price of its main rival, Commerzbank AG, is down 3.9 per cent.
