BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors largely staying cautious, assessing the impact of tariffs on global economic growth, and continuing to digest corporate earnings announcements and other data.
Trump administration's higher tariff rates on trading partners took effect from midnight. Meanwhile, Moscow confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump are preparing to meet in the coming days, raising hopes of a ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Amid a lack of economic and earnings data, trading in the major European markets was somewhat lackluster. Optimism about a rate cut by the Fed next month aided sentiment a bit.
The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.16%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.04%, Germany's DAX closed down 0.24% and France's CAC 40 ended 0.17% up. Switzerland's SMI settled with a gain of 0.15%.
However, most of the other markets in Europe closed on a positive note. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed higher.
Netherlands ended weak, while Norway closed roughly flat.
In the UK market, Glencore and Antofagasta climbed 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively. Fresnillo and Rio Tinto both gained about 1.7%. Anglo American Plc advanced 1.3%.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Mondi, JD Sports Fashion, ICG and Rentokil gained 1.7 to 2.3%.
WPP closed more than 6% down. Entain ended down by nearly 6%. Intercontinental Hotels Group, RightMove, The Sage Group, Compass Group, Relx, Auto Trader Group and Endeavour Mining lost 2 to 4%.
In the German market, Commerzbank, Fresenius, Merck, Infineon, Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Puma gained 2 to 3.5%.
Deutsche Post, Daimler Truck Holding, BASF, Deutsche Bank, Heidelberg Cement, Porsche, Zalando, Bayer, BMW and Sartorius also closed with strong gains.
Munich RE tumbled more than 7% after the company trimmed outlook for 2025 insurance revenue. Insurance revenue from insurance contracts issued declined 1.2% to 14.78 billion euros in the second quarter, from prior year's 14.95 billion euros, despite organic growth.
In the second quarter, Munich Re generated a net result of 2.09 billion euros, up 30.2% from last year's 1.60 billion euros. Earnings per share climbed 32.9% to 15.94 euros from 11.99 euros a year ago.
Hannover Rueck lost about 4% and Rheinmetall ended lower by about 2%. SAP and E.ON also declined sharply.
In the French market, Credit Agricole and ArcelorMittal gained 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively.
BNP Paribas, Stellantis, STMicroElectronics, Renault, Societe Generale, Capgemini, Saint Gobain, Bouygues, Carrefour, Kering, Eurofins Scientific and Orange ended higher by 1 to 2.5%.
In economic news, France's unemployment rate held steady as expected in the June quarter, the statistical office INSEE said.
The jobless rate stood at 7.5% in the second quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. The number of unemployed increased by 29,000 compared to the March quarter, to 2.4 million.
The unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 declined by 0.2% to 19% in the second quarter.
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