European markets closed lower sell off

Frankfurt — Major European markets ended lower on Friday, surrendering early gains and sliding sharply late in the session.

Early support was driven largely by banking stocks on optimism over the interest-rate outlook into 2026. That sentiment, however, faded after comments from Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee dampened expectations of faster or deeper rate cuts.

Markets were also weighed down toward the close by heavy selling in technology stocks amid renewed concerns over valuations.

Germany’s DAX fell 108.12 points, or 0.45%, to 24,186.49. London’s FTSE 100 dropped 54.13 points, or 0.56%, to 9,649.03, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 17.14 points, or 0.21%, to 8,068.62.

In Germany, Siemens Energy plunged 4.25%, while Deutsche Bank slid 3.13%. Heidelberg Materials fell 0.98% and Infineon Technologies lost 0.77%. Siemens Healthineers gained 0.94%, RWE rose 0.74%, BASF added 0.63% and Vonovia advanced 0.33%. Deutsche Telekom eased 0.41% and Deutsche Post edged down 0.04%.

In London, Metlen Energy tumbled 4.16%, St. James’s Place dropped 3.59% and British American Tobacco sank 3.33%. Ashtead Group climbed 2.55% and Auto Trader rose 1.21%, while Prudential slid 1.33% and Tesco fell 1.17%. Airtel Africa declined 0.97%, Haleon lost 0.86%, Shell dropped 0.76% and Scottish Mortgage slid 0.70%. Centrica added 0.48% and Rolls-Royce eased 0.32%.

In France, Atos surged 9.97% and Worldline rose 2.00%. Accor gained 1.30% and Engie advanced 1.12%. Legrand fell 1.63%, Schneider Electric dropped 1.57% and Societe Generale declined 1.21%. Credit Agricole slipped 0.95%, Veolia Environnement lost 0.82% and BNP Paribas fell 0.74%.

On the economic front, the UK economy contracted for a second consecutive month in October, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Gross domestic product fell 0.1% month-on-month, matching September’s decline. On an annual basis, GDP rose 1.1%, below expectations of a 1.4% increase.

In Germany, consumer price inflation was unchanged in November, in line with the preliminary estimate, according to Destatis. The consumer price index rose 2.3% year-on-year, the same pace as in October, while EU-harmonized inflation accelerated.

France’s consumer price inflation also held steady in November, final data from statistics office INSEE showed. Inflation stood at 0.9%, unchanged from October and in line with the earlier flash estimate.