European stocks rose on Friday as investors digested a series of interest rate decisions, pushing the region’s benchmark to new highs.
pan-european Stocks 600 Major regional stock exchanges rose, but sectors were mixed, with the index hitting a record high of 588.07 points, up more than 0.4% at the close in London.
Looking at individual stocks, major sportswear companies puma and adidas They fell 3% and 1%, respectively, due to concerns about U.S. rivals. nike’s achievements spread to companies across the Atlantic.
Nike’s second-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, but investors were spooked by a weak Chinese market and the continuing impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs.
Nike stock has fallen 10% and is down 20% from its February high.
Puma was one of the worst performing stocks on the Stoxx 600 index on Friday, sinking to the bottom of the index.
Meanwhile, Italian luxury car maker Ferrari rose 1.7%, lagging its previous gains.
Monetary policy updates from the Bank of England, European Central Bank, Norges Bank and Riksbank are scheduled to be released on Thursday, leaving local investors reeling from a day packed with central bank decisions. All banks left their key interest rates unchanged, except for the Bank of England, which cut the rate by 25 basis points.
The ECB has raised its forecast for economic growth in the euro area, saying it expects growth of up to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.
European traders will also be keeping an eye on news from France on Friday. In France, parliamentarians are scheduled to hold austerity talks. A joint committee of politicians is scheduled to hammer out the terms of a 2026 spending plan on Friday, but they are divided along political and ideological lines and could have trouble finding agreement. If the situation fails, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecorne will be forced to take emergency measures to ensure that spending and borrowing can continue into the new year until a budget is passed.
L’Ecornu said last month that the possibility of not passing a budget before the new year was a “looming danger for France,” according to local media.
The country has already been hit by political turmoil in France this year, with L’Ecornu, the fifth French prime minister in the past five years, to resign after 27 days in office, only to be reinstated later that week.
Elsewhere, European Union officials announced on Friday that they had approved a 90 billion euro ($105.5 billion) aid package for Ukraine, opting not to use frozen Russian assets to fund loans to Kiev.
European economic data released today included GfK’s latest German consumer confidence index, UK retail sales and Italian business confidence.
On the other side of the Atlantic, investors around the world will be keeping an eye on existing home sales numbers and Michigan end consumer sentiment data for December.
Wall Street rose on Friday; oracleas artificial intelligence trade looks to regain its footing after recent volatility.
