\n<\/p>\n
European stocks turned in a mixed performance for a third straight session, with investors mostly reacting to corporate earnings updates and regional economic data on Friday. <\/p>\n
Soft inflation data from the U.S. raised optimism about some monetary easing by the Federal Reserve and prompted some buying.<\/p>\n
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.13%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.42% and Germany’s DAX ended 0.25% up, while France’s CAC 40 closed lower by 0.35%. Switzerland’s SMI gained 0.52%.<\/p>\n
Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain closed weak.<\/p>\n Denmark, Finland, Netherlands and Russia ended higher. Sweden and T\u00fcrkiye closed flat.<\/p>\n In the UK market, defense stocks moved higher, while banks showed weakness.<\/p>\n Relx soared 10%. Experian and 3i Group moved up 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Halma, Endeavour Mining, Melrose Industries, Tesco, Fresnillo and BAE Systems gained 2%-4%.<\/p>\n Entain ended down 4.7%. Natwest Group, Croda International, HSBC Holdings, Barclays Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Land Securities, Howden Joinery Group, Bunzl, Whitbread and British American Tobacco lost 1%-2.5%.<\/p>\n In the German market, Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines, Gea Group, Rheinmetall, Merck, Infineon, E.ON, BMW, SAP, Continental, Beiersdorf, Qiagen, Scout24 and Siemens Healthineers gained 1%-5.2%.<\/p>\n Rheinmetall moved up sharply on news about the company’s automotive divestment and a \u20ac200 million NATO contract for 120mm ammunition. <\/p>\n Commerzbank, RWE, Deutsche Bank, Siemens and Munich RE ended with sharp losses.<\/p>\n In the French market, Safran zoomed more than 8% on strong revenue growth and an upward revision in future financial targets. Capgemini surged 5.6% on strong full-year revenue growth, while Eurofins Scientific, Publicis Groupe, STMicroelectronics, Saint Gobain, Renault, Airbus, Carrefour and Michelin also closed with strong gains.<\/p>\n Societe Generale tumbled more than 5%. L’Oreal lost about 4.7% amid somewhat disappointing sales in China in the fourth-quarter. BNP Paribas, LVMH, Sanofi, Hermes International, Dassault Systemes, AXA, Engie and EssilorLuxottica ended down by 1%-2.3%.<\/p>\n In economic news, the euro area economy<\/span> grew at a steady pace in the fourth quarter, matching the initial estimate, flash estimates from Eurostat showed.<\/p>\n Gross domestic product rose 0.3% sequentially, the same rate of growth as seen in the third quarter. The rate matched the initial figure published on January 30.<\/p>\n Year-on-year, GDP moved up 1.3%, in line with the estimate, but weaker than the 1.4% expansion seen a quarter ago.<\/p>\n Further, data today showed that employment posted a stable increase of 0.2% in the fourth quarter. On a yearly basis, employment rose 0.6%, unchanged from the prior quarter.<\/p>\n The euro area trade surplus fell to EUR 12.6 billion in December, from EUR 13.9 billion in the previous year, a separate data from Eurostat showed. Exports increased 3.4% from the previous year, offsetting the 3.4% fall in November. Imports logged an annual growth of 4.2% in December, reversing a 1.1% fall seen a month ago.<\/p>\n Germany’s wholesale prices logged a steady increase in January, figures from Destatis showed. The wholesale price index advanced 1.2% year-on-year in January, the same pace of increase as seen in December.<\/p>\n On a monthly basis, wholesale prices moved up 0.9%, in contrast to December’s 0.2% fall. Prices were expected to rise 0.1%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n