The European markets ended Friday's session with mixed results. As concerns over a potential U.S. military strike on Syria continued to recede, investors are turning their attention toward the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, which will conclude next week Wednesday. Weaker than expected U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment data released in the afternoon had investors wondering how the results would impact the Fed's plans to begin tapering its stimulus measures.
The Eurozone finance ministers are beginning a two-day informal 'Ecofin' meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania today to discuss ways to bolster confidence in EU financial policy.
Spain's government debt increased further in the second quarter and reached a record high as the widening budget deficit continues to challenge policymakers' efforts to revive the flagging Euro area economy.
A report published by the Bank of Spain Friday showed that total national debt climbed to EUR943 billion in the June quarter, which was 92.2 percent of the gross domestic product, from 90.1 percent at the end of the first quarter. The borrowing ratio has also breached the government's target of 91.4 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.25 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.19 percent.
The DAX of Germany climbed by 0.18 percent and the CAC 40 of France advanced by 0.19 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. decreased by 0.08 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.06 percent.
In Frankfurt, Gerry Weber International sank by 8.23 percent. The fashion and lifestyle firm reported lower profit for the first nine months of the year, hurt by poor weather conditions that impacted sales. Further, the company cut its full year outlook again.
Suedzucker fell by 2.75 percent, after a broker downgrade.
Kabel Deutschland climbed by 6.33 percent. Vodafone said it has received 75 percent shares in Kabel Deutschland in connection with the voluntary public takeover offer for the cable company. Vodafone rose by 0.90 percent in the U.K.
Fresenius said its Helios unit agreed to acquire 43 hospitals in Germany from Rhoen-Klinikum for 3.07 billion euros or $4.1 billion. Fresenius advanced by 3.59 percent and Rhoen-Klinikum surged by 11.43 percent.
JPMorgan upgraded MunichRe to ''Overweight'' from ''Neutral.'' The stock increased by 2.33 percent.
In Paris, Societe Generale rose by 0.16 percent. The lender is reportedly exploring the sale of its Asia private banking arm, due to rising costs as well as increased competition.
BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole fell by 0.85 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively.
In London, miners were under pressure due to weakening metal prices. Anglo American declined by 3.21 percent and Vedanta Resources decreased by 1.86 percent. Antofagasta fell by 1.68 percent and Rio Tinto finished lower by 1.37 percent.
Polymetal International declined by 3.47 percent, after Credit Suisse downgraded it to "Underperform" from "Neutral."
EasyJet dropped by 1.59 percent, even after UBS added the stock to its ''Most Preferred List.''
Pennon Group fell by 3.72 percent, after Credit Suisse downgraded it to "Underperform" from "Neutral."
Redhall plunged by 22.32 percent, after the specialist engineering support services group said its trading in the second half of the year is expected to be below management view, with profit below market consensus.
Aer Lingus, which revised annual outlook, sank by 5.99 percent.
Carlsberg increased by 1.87 percent in Copenhagen, after Goldman Sachs upgraded the brewer to "Neutral" from "Sell."
The pace of decline in the number of employed persons in euro area eased in the second quarter, according to the latest data released by Eurostat on Friday. Employment fell 0.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to 145 million in the second quarter, slower than a 0.4 percent drop recorded in the first quarter.
Production in the British construction sector increased in July after falling in the previous month as the volumes of both new work and maintenance increased, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. The volume of output in the construction sector grew a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent sequentially in July, recovering from the 1.1 percent decrease recorded in June.
House prices in the United Kingdom climbed to its highest level on record in August, results of a survey revealed Friday. The average price of a property was GBP 233,779 in August, up 0.4 percent from July, Acadametrics and LSL Property Services said in the survey report. Prices increased 3.2 percent from August 2012.
Retail sales in the U.S. rose by less than expected in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The report said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in August following an upwardly revised 0.4 percent increase in July.
Economists had expected sales to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.2 percent growth originally reported for the previous month.
With food and energy prices showing notable increases, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. producer prices rose by more than expected in the month of August. The Labor Department said its producer price index rose by 0.3 percent in August after coming in unchanged in July. The index had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.
Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has deteriorated by much more than anticipated in the month of September, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday. The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for September came in at 76.8, down from the final August reading of 82.1. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 82.0.
With retail inventories showing a notable increase, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. business inventories rose by more than expected in the month of July. The report said business inventories climbed by 0.4 percent in July following a revised 0.1 percent increase in June. Economists had expected inventories to increase by 0.3 percent.
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Market Analysis
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.