British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves Downing Street in London, England, on February 2, 2026.
Alicia Abodunde | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks fell sharply on Friday as better-than-expected U.S. price data and a jump in oil prices put inflation concerns back on investors’ minds.
pan-european Stocks 600 The index was trading 1.4% lower by 3:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. ET) in London.
The major exchanges in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan were all in the red, and most regional sectors were also in the red.
of magnum ice cream company‘s Amsterdam-listed shares soared 11.3% following the report. black stone CD&R is one of the companies considering a private equity raid on the group. World’s largest independent ice cream maker spins out unilever End of last year.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were among the hardest hit by Friday’s decline.
Antofagasta and Fresnillo neared double-digit losses as gold sold off and oil prices rose as hopes for a breakthrough in Middle East peace talks appeared to fade. Finally, Antofagasta fell 9.3% and Fresnillo fell 9.6%.
In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces a new battle for the premiership after Labor rival Andy Burnham was given a path to parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a leadership challenge.
Mr Burnham, the current mayor of Manchester and a left-wing candidate, is not an MP, but Josh Symonds, the Labor MP for Makerfield, announced his resignation, paving the way for Mr Burnham to stand in the special election. However, victory is by no means guaranteed as Burnham will be up against a resurgent right-wing party, Reform UK.
Burnham is seen by bond markets as moving further to the left, raising borrowing costs and investors fear that a less conservative chancellor could lead to more borrowing, more public spending and more debt.
The pound fell 0.37% to $1.3347, falling for the fifth straight day after a week of political turmoil. The 10-year Gilts yield, a benchmark for British government bonds, rose more than 16 basis points in afternoon trading to 5.158%.
European stocks followed overnight declines in Asian markets as South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index fell more than 3% on Friday, retreating from a record high of over 8,000, as markets across the Asia-Pacific region fell.
The small-cap Kosdaq fell 2.61%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.1%, and the TOPIX fell 0.13%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell by 0.89%, but the CSI300 was flat. India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.2%.
Investors remained focused on developments in the U.S.-China summit after talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping ended Friday without any significant policy progress.
On Wall Street, a wide range of S&P500 fell 0.8%, but Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.7%, Nasdaq The index fell 1.1% on concerns about a resurgence in U.S. inflation.
On Wednesday, the U.S. producer price index rose 1.4% in April, the biggest monthly increase since March 2022, and also beat economists’ consensus estimates of 0.5% and an upwardly revised 0.7% rise in March. On an annual basis, the index rose 6%, the biggest gain since December 2022.
The report was released a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the consumer price index rose 3.8% year-over-year in the same month, as higher energy prices exacerbated inflation due to unexpected increases in shelter costs.
Core inflation was more subdued at 2.8%, but still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and central bankers are likely to continue holding off on action as the impact of the Iran war and President Donald Trump’s tariffs unfolds.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon also contributed to this report.
