{"id":58989,"date":"2025-04-25T16:56:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T16:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/04\/25\/european-stocks-close-higher-17\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T16:56:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T16:56:29","slug":"european-stocks-close-higher-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/04\/25\/european-stocks-close-higher-17\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close Higher"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite lingering uncertainty about U.S. government’s trade policy, European stocks closed higher on Friday, with German and French markets<\/span> gaining for a fourth straight session, and the U.K. moving up for the tenth consecutive session, as investors focused on earnings.<\/p>\n

The mood remained positive amid hopes the tensions between the U.S. and China may de-escalate as reports said China will likely remove its 125% tariff on some U.S. imports.<\/p>\n

A somewhat softer tone of the U.S. President Donald Trump toward China has also helped ease concerns about a trade war.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.32%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.11%, while Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.65% and 0.43%, respectively. Switzerland’s SMI settled higher by 0.21%.<\/p>\n

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Sweden ended higher.<\/p>\n

Denmark, Poland and Turkiye closed weak, while Greece ended flat.<\/p>\n

In the German market, MTU Aero Engines and Brenntag both gained about 4.5%. Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Bayer, Daimler Truck Holding, Siemens Healthineers, Deutsche Bank, Continental, BMW, SAP, Infineon, Merck, Siemens Energy, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz gained 1.3 to 4%.<\/p>\n

BASF, Fresenius Medical Care, Allianz, Deutsche Post and Deutsche Boerse also closed higher.<\/p>\n

Deutsche Telekom closed down nearly 5%. Zalando ended 4.4% down, and Commerzbank lost about 2.1%. Puma, Qiagen, Beiersdorf and E.On also closed weak.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, Melrose Industries, Entain, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Centrica, St. James’s Plae, Intermediate Capital Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Schroders, Mondi, IAG and Scottish Mortgage gained 1.5 to 4%.<\/p>\n

Unilever, Marks & Spencer, Fresnillo, Pearson, Hiscox, Endeavour Mining, Rio Tinto, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and British American Tobacco lost 1 to 2.3%.<\/p>\n

In Paris, Accor rallied more than 6%. Saint-Gobain and Safran gained about 4% and 4.4%, respectively. <\/p>\n

Safran rallied after reporting stronger-than-expected revenue for the first quarter and confirming its FY25 outlook. The company reported adjusted revenue of 7.26 billion euros in the first quarter, up 16.7% from last year’s 6.22 billion euros. Adjusted revenues at constant currency grew 2.3%, and the growth was 13.9 % organically.<\/p>\n

Schneider Electric, Airbus, Societe Generale, Publicis Groupe, Micheli, ArecelorMittal, Dassault Systemes, Credit Agricole and TotalEnerges climbed 1 to 2.5%.<\/p>\n

Edenred tanked more than 16%. Engie lost about 7.1%, while Thales and Orange lost 3% and 2.8%, respectively. Capgemini, L’Oreal and Sanofi also ended weak.<\/p>\n

Data from the statistical office INSEE revealed that the confidence among French manufacturers rebounded strongly in April to the strongest level in nearly a year.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing sentiment index rose to 99 in April from 96.0 in February. Moreover, the index moved closer to its long-term average of 100, and a similar reading was last seen in May 2024. Meanwhile, the score was expected to remain stable at 96.0.<\/p>\n

The index measuring personal production expectations improved notably to 11 in April from 6.0 in the previous month. Similarly, producers’ past production situation strengthened to 1.0 from -3.0 in March.<\/p>\n

Data showed that the index measuring overall order books increased sharply to -18 from -26, while general production expectations showed more negative, and the corresponding index fell to -16 from -11.<\/p>\n

A report from the Office for National Statistics said UK retail sales grew unexpectedly in March as good weather boosted sales of clothing and outdoor retailers.<\/p>\n

Retail sales grew 0.4% on a monthly basis, confounding expectations for a decline of 0.3%, the report showed. However, this was slower than the 0.7% increase in February and marked the third consecutive increase.<\/p>\n

Excluding auto fuel, retail sales gained 0.5% after a 0.7% rise. Sales were expected to drop 0.4%.<\/p>\n

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth advanced to 2.6% from 1.8% in February. Similarly, core retail sales growth improved to 3.3% from 1.8%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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