{"id":68783,"date":"2026-01-16T18:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/16\/major-european-markets-close-slightly-weak-7\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T18:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:40:18","slug":"major-european-markets-close-slightly-weak-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/01\/16\/major-european-markets-close-slightly-weak-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Major European Markets Close Slightly Weak"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\n<\/p>\n

\n

The major European markets<\/span> closed lower on Friday amid renewed concerns about geopolitical tensions and uncertainty surrounding French budget negotiations. Also, investors chose to take some profits, cashing in recent gains.<\/p>\n

Geopolitical concerns weighed as Greenland worries returned to the fore, with media reports suggesting that European troops are landing in the country to defend it against real U.S. military threat.<\/p>\n

The deployment of troops from several European countries and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies was announced after high-level negotiations between Denmark and U.S. officials ended in stalemate on Thursday.<\/p>\n

On the political front, the French government has postponed parliamentary discussions on its budget to next Tuesday. The discussions were originally scheduled to take place today.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down 0.03%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.04% down, Germany’s DAX slid 0.22% and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.65%. Switzerland’s SMI shed 0.47%.<\/p>\n

Other markets in Europe closed mixed. Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Turkiye closed higher.<\/p>\n

Finland, Greece, Netherlands and Poland ended weak, while Ireland and Sweden closed flat. <\/p>\n

In the UK market, BAE Systems, Natwest Group, Smiths Group, Schroders, National Grid, Standard Chartered, British Land Company and The Sage Group gained 1.4 to 2.3%.<\/p>\n

Pearson, Metlen Energy & Metals, Entain, Antofagasta, Endeavour Mining, Glencore, Anglo American Plc., and Pershing Square Holdings lost 2 to 4%.<\/p>\n

In Germany, Brenntag, BASF, Deutsche Telekom and Continental lost 2 to 4%. SAP, Porsche Automobil Holding, Volkswagen, Bayer, BMW, Adidas and Symrise closed lower by 1 to 1.9%.<\/p>\n

Daimler Truck Holding declined after reporting a drop in 2025 sales. Continental, Siemens, Zalando, Bayer, Adidas and Symrise also drifted lower.<\/p>\n

Siemens Energy climbed more than 5%. Zalando, RWE and Fresenius Medical Care gained 1.5 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n

Kloeckner & Co shares soared over 28% after Worthington Steel announced that it would buy the German stee processor in a deal valued at $2.4 billion.<\/p>\n

In the French market, Kering and Essilor closed down by 4.7% and 4%, respectively. LVMH, Stellantis, TP and Renault lost 2.7 to 3.1%.<\/p>\n

Hermes International, Carrefour, Edenred, Sanofi, Saint-Gobain, Societe Generale, Pernod Ricard, Danone and Capgemini ended lower by 1 to 2%.<\/p>\n

Thales moved up 2.3%. Vinci, Airbus, Orange and Safran posted moderate gains.<\/p>\n

Data from Destatis showed the harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2% on a yearly basis in December, following a 2.6% gain in the previous month. <\/p>\n

Likewise, consumer price inflation weakened to 1.8% from 2.3% in each of the previous two months. The latest inflation rate was the slowest since September 2024 and also matched the provisional estimate.<\/p>\n

On a monthly basis, the HICP climbed 0.2% and the CPI remained flat in December. Both rates were in line with the initial estimates.<\/p>\n

In 2025, CPI inflation averaged 2.2%, the same rate as seen in 2024 and weaker than the 5.9% posted in 2023.<\/p>\n

Core inflation softened to 2.8% in 2025 from 3% in 2024. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n