European Markets Climb Higher On Friday

The major European stock markets finished higher on Friday on the back of strong corporate earnings and easing AI concerns.

The upside remained capped amid simmering geopolitical tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump set a deadline of 10-15 days for Iran to agree nuclear deal or face “bad things.” Iran warned U.S. bases in the Middle East could be “legitimate targets” if Washington attacks.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly blocked a request from Trump to allow U.S. forces to use U.K. air bases during any pre-emptive attack on Iran, saying it could break international law.

The DAX in Germany jumped 217.12 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 25,260.69, while the FTSE in London added 59.85 points or 0.56 percent to close at 10,686.89 and the CAC 40 in France rallied 116.71 points or 1.39 percent to end at 8,515.49.

In Germany, Bayer plummeted 4.16 percent, while Deutsche Bank soared 2.10 percent, Daimler Truck rallied 1.64 percent, Deutsche Borse improved 1.62 percent, Zalando tumbled 1.62 percent, Infineon Technologies slumped 1.39 percent, BASF gained 0.41 percent, Deutsche Telekom rose 0.28 percent and Deutsche Post perked 0.06 percent.

In London, British American Tobacco spiked 2.15 percent, while Prudential jumped 1.71 percent, SSE vaulted 1.69 percent, Centrica expanded 1.26 percent, St. James Place climbed 1.02 percent, Rolls-Royce and Airtel Africa both advanced 0.91 percent, Haleon gained 0.59 percent and Rightmove rose 0.51 percent.

In France, L’Air Liquide surged 4.80 percent, while Compagnie de Saint-Gobain piked 3.08 percent, Orange tumbled 2.15 percent, Societe Generale jumped 1.96 percent, Credit Agricole climbed 1.70 percent, Airbus gained 1.41 percent, Carrefour added 0.96 percent and BNP Paribas collected 0.95 percent.

In economic news, the UK government registered the largest budget surplus on record in January due to higher tax receipts, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The public sector surplus rose to GBP 30.4 billion from GBP 14.5 billion in the same period last year. This was GBP 6.3 billion above forecasts and also the highest surplus since records began in 1993.

UK retail sales growth accelerated the most since May 2024, partly due to higher artwork and antiques sales, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. Retail sales posted a monthly growth of 1.8 percent in January, following a rise of 0.4 percent in December. This was the strongest growth since May 2024. Sales were expected to climb only 0.2 percent.

Germany’s producer prices declined at the fastest pace since early 2024 in January due to lower energy prices, Destatis reported Friday. Producer prices posted an annual fall of 3.0 percent in January, marking the biggest decline since April 2024. This followed December’s 2.5 percent decrease.

The euro area private sector growth improved to a three-month high in February, driven by notable expansion in the German manufacturing sector, flash survey results published by S&P Global revealed Friday. The HCOB flash composite output index registered 51.9 in February, up from 51.3 in January. The score was expected to rise to 51.5.