The major European markets finished in the red on Friday, unable to hold early gains and slumping late in the trading day.
The early support for the markets was largely fueled by banks on optimism over the outlook for interest rates moving forward into 2026 - although comments from Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee threw water on those hopes.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.