{"id":70446,"date":"2026-02-27T17:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/02\/27\/european-stocks-close-on-mixed-note-27\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T17:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:47:14","slug":"european-stocks-close-on-mixed-note-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2026\/02\/27\/european-stocks-close-on-mixed-note-27\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close On Mixed Note"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday with investors digesting a slew of economic data from the region, and earnings announcements and other corporate news. <\/p>\n

Geopolitical news was in focus as well, and the mood in most of the markets<\/span> remained somewhat cautious amid lingering concerns about workforce disruption due to artificial-intelligence related layoffs.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 gained 0.19%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.59%, Germany’s DAX edged up 0.09%, and France’s CAC 40 ended down by 0.47%. Switzerland’s SMI closed up by 0.72%.<\/p>\n

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Poland, Spain and T\u00fcrkiye ended weak.<\/p>\n

Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia closed Sweden notably higher, while Belgium, Denmark and Portugal edged up marginally.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, RightMove gained about 4.3%.<\/p>\n

Diageo, BT Group, LSEG, Fresnillo, Haleon, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Airtel Africa, Relx, Endeavour Mining, Howden Joinery Group, Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever, Smiths Group, Glencore, Next, Beazley, Centrica and Shell gained 1.7%-5%.<\/p>\n

Melrose Industries plunged 11.6% after it forecast 2026 revenue below expectations.<\/p>\n

IAG shed about 7.4%. The stock moved up sharply earlier in the session after the company issued a positive outlook and announced a 1.5 billion euro repurchase plan.<\/p>\n

Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Barclays, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Entain, Easyjet, Burberry Group, Lloyds Banking Group, ICG and Metlen Energy & Metals lost 2%-4.3%.<\/p>\n

In the German market, Scout24 climbed nearly 4.5%. Deutsche Telekom moved up 3.7% and Deutsche Boerse gained nearly 3%. <\/p>\n

Merck, Symrise, Vonovia, Munich RE, Qiagen, Beiersdorf, Hannover Rueck, Daimler Truck Holding, Gea Group and Siemens Energy also posted strong gains.<\/p>\n

BASF declined sharply after the company forecast flat earnings this year. Delivery Hero ended sharply lower after reporting annual gross merchandise value (GMV) slightly below market expectations.<\/p>\n

Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Addas, Continental, Infineon and MTU Aero Engines also closed notably lower.<\/p>\n

In the French market, Pernod Ricard, Stellantis, Capgemini, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Sanofi, AXA, Orange, Veolia Environment, Dassault Systemes, Eurofins Scientific, Michelin and Bouygues closed notably higher.<\/p>\n

EssilorLuxottica shed about 5.5%. Societe Generale, STMicroelectronics, Credit Agricole, Engie, Safran, Airbus and Accor ended lower by 1%-2%.<\/p>\n

Preliminary data showed Germany’s import prices rose at a faster than expected pace in January but remained lower in year-on-year comparison due to the steep fall in energy prices, a report from the statistical office Destatis said.<\/p>\n

The import price index rose 1.1% month-on-month, same as in December, data showed. Economists had expected an increase of 0.6%. This was the largest month-on-month increase recorded since January 2025, which was also 1.1%, the statistical office said.<\/p>\n

Import prices fell 2.3% year-on-year, same as in December.<\/p>\n

In January, energy prices slumped 21.1% year-on-year but rose 3.5% from the previous month.<\/p>\n

Germany’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.3% in February 2026, underscoring the continued strain from three years of economic weakness on Europe’s largest labor market. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, unemployment fell by 14,700 to 3.07 million, easing from January’s near 12-year high of 3.08 million. <\/p>\n

INSEE said France’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 1% in February 2026, up from 0.3% in January which was the lowest reading since December 2020, according to preliminary estimates. Compared to the previous month, the CPI went up 0.7%, the most in two years, after a 0.3% gain in January. <\/p>\n

France’s economy<\/span> expanded 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2025, easing from 0.5% in Q3 and confirming preliminary estimates, a separate report from INSEE showed. This marked the softest quarterly growth in three quarters. On an annual basis, GDP expanded 1.2%, higher than initial data of 1.1% and the strongest since Q1 2024, picking up from 1% in Q3. For the full year 2025, the French economy grew 0.9%, slowing from 1.1% in 2024. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, French domestic producer prices rose by 0.5% month-on-month in January 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in the previous month. This marked the fourth straight month of growth. On an annual basis, the decline in producer prices intensified, dropping 2.3%, the sharpest since December 2024, compared with a 1.9% fall in December. <\/p>\n

Non Farm Payrolls in France increased by 27073 thousand in December of 2025, another data from INSEE showed.<\/p>\n

The U.K. consumer confidence index fell to a three-month low or -19 in February, from -16 in January, the Consumer Confidence Barometer survey by the GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) revealed. Economists had expected a mild increase to -15. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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