European stock markets moved lower on Friday as attention turned to inflation prints from some of the region’s biggest economies, along with the U.S.
By 8:31 a.m. in London (3:31 a.m. ET), the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2% lower, with most sectors in negative territory. Among major regional bourses, the French CAC 40 led losses after shedding 0.5%.
Defense companies were leading the Stoxx 600 during early trade, with German players Rheinmetall, Hensoldt and Renk all gaining more than 3%.
That came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters on Thursday that he was doubtful a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy would come to fruition.
At the other end of the index were British lenders NatWest, down 4.7%, Lloyds, down 3.7%, and Barclays, down 3.4%.
The Financial Times reported on Friday morning that U.K. banking executives were concerned the country’s finance minister Rachel Reeves may target the sector as she seeks to bolster public finances.
Price rise data is due from France, Spain, Italy and Germany, ahead of the flash August reading for the euro area next Tuesday.
Stateside, investors will be monitoring the personal consumption expenditures price index, a key metric for the Federal Reserve. It comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell stoked expectations for an interest rate cut in September with a speech last week widely interpreted as dovish-tilting. Interest rate trading currently places around an 85% probability on a cut next month, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Stoxx 600 index.
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