BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed lower on Friday, extending losses to a third straight session, as investors stayed reluctant to engage in any significant buying due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and rising concerns about inflation and possible monetary tightening by central banks.
Disappointing economic data from the region hurt as well.
Corporate earnings updates set the trend for some stocks, while the overall mood remained negative almost right through the day's session.
Shares from financials, airlines, mining and industrials sectors were among the notable losers. Defense and energy stocks found some support.
The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 0.50%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended down by 0.43%, Germany's DAX lost 0.6% and France's CAC closed 0.91% down. Switzerland's SMI settled flat. The FTSE, DAX and CAC 40 all posted marginal losses for the week.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Türkiye closed weak.
Norway ended modestly higher. Greece and Netherlands edged up marginally, while Denmark and Portugal ended flat.
In the UK market, miners Fresnillo and Antofagasta lost 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively. Anglo American Plc., Endeavour Mining, Rio Tinto and Glencore lost 2.4%-4.4%.
Bank stocks Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest Group, HSBC Holdings and Barclays ended notably lower.
Rolls-Royce Holdings, Spirax Group, Weir Group, Intertek, Melrose Industries, Croda International, Easyjet, IAG, Halma and Segro were among the other major losers.
Metlen Energy & Metals, Tesco, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Imperial Brands, RightMove, Bunzl, M&G, Diageo, Admiral Group and Legal & General gained 2%-3.5%.
In the German market, Siemens Energy tumbled more than 6%. Volkswagen, Siemens, MTU Aero Engines, Gea Group, Comerzbank, Gea Group, Daimler Truck Holding, Adidas, Bayer, Deutsche Post, Merck and Infineon lost 1%-3.2%.
Zalando surged nearly 8%, rising sharply for a second straight session. Rheinmetall gained nearly 3%, while RWE, E.ON, Qiagen, Deutsche Telekom, Allianz, Symrise and Hannover Rueck gained 1%-2.5%.
In the French market, Stellantis, ArcelorMittal and LVMH lost 4%-4.4%. Kering, EssilorLuxottica, Accor, Societe Generale, Schneider Electric, Legrand, Airbus, Renault, L'Oreal, Hermes International, Safran, Credit Agricole and Edenred ended lower by 1%-3%.
TotalEnergies climbed more than 2.5%. Danone, Orange, Publicis Groupe, Dassault Systemes and Engie also ended notably higher.
Shares of media giant Vivendi declined sharply despite the company reporting a significant swing to profitability in the second half of 2025. On Thursday, the company reported earnings attributed to shareholders of 20 million euros or 0.02 euros per share for the full year 2025, compared to a loss of 6,004 million euros or 5.96 euros per share for the full year of 2024.
In economic news, Germany's wholesale prices rose 1.2% year-on-year in February, matching the pace recorded in the previous two months and marking the 15th consecutive increase, data from federal statistical office Destatis showed.
On a monthly basis, wholesale prices went up 0.6%, slowing from 0.9% in January but exceeding market forecasts of a 0.4% rise.
Final data from the statistical office INSEE showed France's consumer price inflation rose slightly less than estimated in February, logging an annual growth of 0.9%, revised down from earlier estimate of 1%. Prices had increased 0.3% in January and 0.8% in December.
The increase in inflation was mainly due to a less pronounced decline in prices of energy and manufactured goods. Energy prices slid 2.9% after a 7.6% drop, driven by a base effect on electricity prices which had fallen sharply in February 2025.
Meanwhile, food price inflation accelerated to 2% from 1.9%.
EU harmonized inflation advanced to 1.1% from 0.4% in January. The rate matched the flash estimate. Core inflation rose to 0.9% in February from 0.7% in January.
The consumer price index gained 0.6% from a month ago, reversing a 0.3% drop in January. The initially estimated monthly inflation was 0.7%.
A report from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK economy logged no growth in January, as growth in construction was offset by contraction in industry and flat services activity.
Gross domestic product remained flat after rising 0.1% in December and 0.2% in November. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 0.2%.
The dominant service sector registered no growth and industrial production edged down 0.1%. Meanwhile, the construction sector expanded 0.2%.
On a yearly basis, the UK economy expanded 0.8% in January, slightly weaker than forecast of 0.9%. In the three months to January, real GDP grew 0.2%, following a growth of 0.1% in the three months to December.
The UK recorded a trade surplus of £3.92 billion in January 2026, after posting a £4.34 billion deficit in the previous month. This marks the first surplus since September 2024.
Exports rose 7.2% month-on-month to a record £82.51 billion, while imports fell 3.3% to a one-year low of £78.59 billion.
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