Major European Markets Up In Positive Territory As Investors React To Earnings

The major European markets recovered after a weak start on Friday. While Germany’s benchmark moved up smartly, the U.K. and France’s key indices struggled to make a significant move up north.

Investors are largely reacting to corporate earnings announcements, and looking ahead to fresh directional clues from the region and elsewhere.

The U.K.’s benchmark FTSE 100 was up by about 0.15% at 10,323.27 a little while ago. France’s CAC 40 was up marginally at 8,239.39, while Germany’s DAX was up 174.05 points or 0.71% at 24,622.63, while the pan European Stoxx climbed 0.38% to 613.95

In the UK market, Airtel Africa, Burberry Group, IAG, Barclays, Vodafone Group and Fresnillo gained 2%-3%.

Glencore, SSE, Natwest Group, St. James’s Place, Standard Chartered, Kingfisher, Llodys Banking Group, M&G, BP and HSBC Holdings moved up 1%-1.8%.

Metlen Energy & Metals tanked 16% after the company said that it expects its 2025 EBITDA to come approximately 25% lower than previously targeted, despite robust performance in its core business segments.

Relx lost 4.8%, while Experian, Smith & Nephew, The Sage Group and Entain drifted lower by 2.4%-3%.

Mondi, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Compass Group, Barratt Redrow, Convatec Group, Persimmon, Pershing Square Holdings and Anglo American Plc also declined sharply.

In the German market, Rheinmetall gained more than 3%. Siemens, Bayer, Siemens Energy and E.On moved up 1.5%-2.4%.

Siemens Healthineers tumbled 4%. Zalando, Volkswagen, BMW, Beiersdorf, BASF, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck Holding lost 1%-1.7%.

In the French market, Vinci surged 8.7% after reporting stronger-than-expected results for the full-year. Vinci reported full-year 2025 net income attributable to owners of the parent of 4.90 billion euros or 8.65 euros per share, up from 4.86 billion euros or 8.43 euros per share last year.

ArcelorMittal gained nearly 4%, and Bouygues moved up 2.5%. Schneider Electric, Legrand, Engie and Safran gained 1%-1.6%.

Stellantis plunged 25%. The company flagged a €22 billion charge related to restructuring efforts focused on expanding its electric and hybrid lineup, and also announced that it will sell its 49% stake in NextStar Energy to LG Energy Solutions.

Kering, Renault, Danone, Dassault Systemes, Capgemini, EssilorLuxxotica and Edenred lost 1.4%-3%.

Societe Generale slid more than 2% despite reporting a 36.4% jump in Group net income in the fourth quarter. The company also announced a share buy-back programme totalling 1.462 billion euros.

In economic news, data from Destatis showed Germany’s industrial production decreased 1.9% month-on-month in December, reversing a 0.2% rise in November. Output was forecast to drop 0.2%..

On a yearly basis, industrial production dropped 0.6%, in contrast to the 0.5% increase in November.

A separate data from Destatis showed Germany’s exports bounced back and imports growth doubled in December.

Exports logged a monthly growth of 4% in December after falling 2.5% in November, the data showed. Shipments were expected to rise 1%. At the same time, the increase in imports doubled to 1.4% from 0.7% in November. Economists had forecast imports to climb 0.2%.

As a result, the trade surplus rose to EUR 17.1 billion from EUR 13.6 billion in November.

Data from the customs office showed France’s foreign trade deficit increased in December as imports grew faster than exports. The trade deficit rose to EUR 4.8 billion in December from EUR 4.0 billion in the previous month. The expected shortfall was EUR 4.1 billion.

Exports posted a monthly increase of 1.7% in December, and imports showed a comparatively faster growth of 3%. Year-on-year, exports and imports rose by 4.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Data from mortgage lender Halifax showed UK house prices rebounded at a stronger-than-expected pace in January, reaching a record high.

House prices increased 0.7% on a yearly basis in January, following a fall of 0.5% in December. Year-on-year, growth in house prices accelerated to 1% from 0.4% in the prior month.