LONDON — European markets closed lower on Friday as investors reacted to an expected drop in euro zone inflation and a large chunk of earnings this week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended Friday’s session down 0.5%, with major exchanges and almost all sectors falling.
United Kingdom FTSE100 the index slipped 0.1%, that of Germany DAX fell by 0.8%, while that of France CAC ended down 0.4%. Italy MIB FTSE and Spain BOUQUET 35 also decreased slightly by around 0.1%.
In the United States, Apple and Amazon published results after the close on Thursday. Amazon said revenue at its cloud computing unit rose 20% in the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates and sending shares up more than 13%. Apple also reported strong fourth-quarter fiscal results; its shares rose about 3%.
Inflation in Europe is expected to come in at 2.1% in October, up from 2.2% the previous month, according to a flash estimate from the European Union data office Eurostat. Services are expected to have the highest rate, at 3.4%. Energy, in comparison, is expected at -1%. In terms of countries, Estonia appears to be seeing the biggest increase at 4.5%. At the other end of the spectrum is Cyprus, which faces an expected inflation of 0.3%.
The euro zone economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.2% in the third quarter, narrowly beating estimates of 0.1%, Eurostat flash data showed on Thursday.
The European Central Bank, meanwhile, kept its key deposit facility rate at 2% for the third time in a row, after last cutting rates in June.
Global markets were also pricing in the in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Asia on Thursday. Trump said he had reached a one-year deal with Xi on rare earths and other critical minerals, and that Washington would cut fentanyl-related tariffs on Beijing to 10% after their meeting in South Korea. President Xi is then expected to meet with the leaders of Canada, Japan and Thailand.
Elsewhere, oil is expected to see its third monthly decline, with Brent crude futures up about 0.3% on the day at $64.59 a barrel.
The gold rush may also be easing as the precious metal – which investors often turn to as a stable asset in times of volatility – fell below $4,000 an ounce on Thursday following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates the day before. Gold futures were last trading at around $3,994.00 an ounce Friday afternoon.
It’s a quieter day for earnings on Friday, with results from oil majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil in the United States, as well as consumer goods maker Colgate-Palmolive.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher overnight, with Japanese stocks leading gains as investors weighed a truce between Washington and Beijing.
China’s manufacturing and technology capabilities now appear to be in the spotlight as Korean semiconductor giant Samsung announced plans to purchase and deploy a cluster of 50,000 Nvidia GPUs to improve its manufacturing of chips for mobile devices and robots.
— Kif Leswing of CNBC contributed to this report.
