European stocks traded lower on Friday as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions curbed investors' appetite for riskier assets.
Investors also watched the latest British political developments after early results from nationwide elections suggested a historic drubbing for Prime Minister Keir Starer's Labor Party and sweeping gains for the hard-right Reform U.K. party of Nigel Farage.
In economic releases, German industrial output dropped 0.7 percent in March, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, Destatis reported. The fall confounded economists' forecast of a 0.4 percent increase and followed a 0.5 percent drop in February.
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Market Analysis
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.