European stocks exhibited a range of flat to modest gains on Friday, though they appeared poised to break a three-week winning streak as investors anticipated the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting. Additionally, market participants awaited news regarding the appointment of a new prime minister in France. The Elysee Palace confirmed that President Emmanuel Macron would announce his selection later today, having missed his initial Thursday deadline.
In economic news, the German statistics office, Destatis, reported a continued decline in Germany's wholesale prices for November, although at a decelerating rate. Wholesale prices fell by 0.6% year-on-year in November, a slight improvement from the 0.8% decrease observed in October. This marks a trend of declining wholesale prices since May 2023, with November's decline being the smallest in four months.
Meanwhile, in France, consumer price inflation edged higher, as indicated by final data from the statistical office INSEE. The consumer price index rose by 1.3% annually in November, an increase from the 1.2% recorded in October, aligning with preliminary estimates released on November 29. The EU-harmonized inflation rate also ticked up to 1.7% from 1.6%, as projected.
Over in the U.K., economic data revealed a second consecutive monthly contraction in GDP for October, posing a challenge to the Labour government's economic strategy. The GDP dipped by 0.1% month-on-month, falling short of expectations for a 0.1% increase. This weaker-than-anticipated performance negatively impacted the British pound and heightened expectations for accelerated interest rate cuts by the Bank of England next year.
Regionally, the pan-European STOXX 600 dipped by 0.1% to 518.55, on course to close the week approximately 0.5% lower. The German DAX saw an uptick of 0.3%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.2%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 inched higher.
Within the pharmaceutical sector, shares of Roche Holding and Sanofi SA declined by around 1% each. In contrast, Swiss Re soared 3.2% following its announcement of a net income target of $4.4 billion for 2025. Munich Re experienced a nearly 5% surge after revealing a €6 billion profit target for 2025, with expectations for group insurance revenue to reach €64 billion.
In other corporate news, shares of Pricer AB, a Swedish provider of electronic shelf labels, surged nearly 8% after its collaborator JRTech Solutions secured a deal with Canadian retailer Sobeys for the deployment of 5 million digital labels.
Conversely, Portmeirion Group saw a sharp decline of 15% in London trading. The homeware and fragrance retailer issued a profit warning citing difficult and unpredictable market conditions. Tullow Oil also slid 5% after U.S. oil company Kosmos Energy confirmed preliminary discussions related to a potential all-share acquisition of the London-listed explorer and production company.
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