{"id":55978,"date":"2025-02-07T18:31:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T18:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/02\/07\/european-stocks-close-lower-after-cautious-session-17\/"},"modified":"2025-02-07T18:31:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T18:31:17","slug":"european-stocks-close-lower-after-cautious-session-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/02\/07\/european-stocks-close-lower-after-cautious-session-17\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close Lower After Cautious Session"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\n<\/p>\n

\n

European stocks closed lower on Friday with the mood turning cautious as investors assessed the latest batch of economic data from the U.S. and Europe, and reacted to a slew of earnings updates while awaiting clarity on the Trump administration’s trade policies and tariff moves.<\/p>\n

Data from the Labor Department non-farm payroll employment rose by 143,000 jobs in January compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 170,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 4% in January from 4.1% in December. <\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 closed down 0.38%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 drifted down 0.31%, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.53% and 0.43%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI settled lower by 0.24%.<\/p>\n

The FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40, all posted modest gains in the week.<\/p>\n

Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden closed weak.<\/p>\n

Greece, Iceland, Poland and Turkiye ended higher, while Belgium closed flat.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, Barratt Redrow ended down 4.4%. Mondi, Vistry Group, Taylor Wimpey, ICP, GSK, Howden Joinery, Persimmon, Berkeley Group Holdings, Land Securities, Smith & Nephew and Marks & Spencer lost 2 to 3.4%.<\/p>\n

AstraZeneca, Segro, Halma, B&M European Value Retail, M&G, Next and Lloyds Banking Group also ended notably lower.<\/p>\n

Legal & General gained about 1.2% after the life insurer agreed to sell its U.S. protection business<\/span> to Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company for $2.3 billion.<\/p>\n

Pershing Square Holdings, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Antofagasta, BP, BAE Systems and Glencore gained 1 to 2%.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Porsche closed down 7.3% after the carmaker warned that the cost of new models and battery-related expenses would dent its 2025 profits.<\/p>\n

Porsche said that it expected a profit margin of just 10-12% this year, below analysts’ expectations of 14.8% and well under the mid-term target of 17-19%.<\/p>\n

Puma ended down 4.1%. Adidas, Qiagen, Volkswagen, BASF, BMW, Sartorius, Siemens Healthineers, Deutsche Post, RWE, Merck, Bayer, Mercedes-Benz, Vonovia, Infineon and SAP lost 1 to 2.5%.<\/p>\n

HeidelbergCement, Fresenius, Henkel, E.ON and Rheinmetall gained 1.3 to 1.5%.<\/p>\n

In the French market, Edenred, Pernod Ricard, Kering and L’Oreal lost 4 to 5%. Capgemini, Hermes International, LVMH, Schneider Electric, Stellantis closed lower by 1.2 to 2.2%.<\/p>\n

Vivendi climbed nearly 4%. Societe Generale and Vinci gained about 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Orange, Renault, Thales and Safran closed higher by 0.7 to 1.6%.<\/p>\n

In European economic news, UK house prices grew more than expected in January to hit a record high as buyer demand increased ahead of the stamp duty hike in April, mortgage lender Halifax said Friday.<\/p>\n

House prices increased 0.7% in January from December, reversing a 0.2% drop in the previous month. The monthly growth was also faster than economists’ forecast of 0.4%.<\/p>\n

On a yearly basis, growth in house prices moderated to 3% from 3.4% in December. This was the slowest growth since last July. Average property prices hit a record GBP 299,138 in January.<\/p>\n

data from the statistical office said France’s trade gap narrowed to \u20ac3.9 billion in December 2024, down from a revised \u20ac6.3 billion in November. This marks the smallest trade deficit since November 2020, as exports rose 4% month-on-month to \u20ac52.3 billion. Meanwhile, imports fell 0.8% to \u20ac56.2 billion.<\/p>\n

Data from Bank of France showed that France posted a current account surplus of \u20ac2.4 billion in December 2024, shifting from a downwardly revised \u20ac 1.2 billion deficit in the previous month. This marked the first current account surplus since July.<\/p>\n

Data from Destatis showed German industrial production dropped 2.4% in December, the biggest decline in five months, due largely to a drop in output from the car industry. Economists had expcted the output to drop by 0.6%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n