German factory orders plummeted in January, largely because of the base effect in the previous month. The UK home price rose at a slower pace in February, indicating a stable start in 2024.
Eurozone retail sales barely advanced in January as consumers avoided discretionary spending amid high prices and elevated interest rates. Germany's trade surplus rose to a January record high after exports rose and imports fell.
European markets were on the defensive as investors awaited monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the UK's general budget later in the week.
European markets hovered near record highs as investors awaited an interest rate decision from the European Central Bank later in the week. The Swiss inflation rate eased in February, largely because of slower food price inflation.
The benchmark index in Germany extended weekly gains, but indexes in France and the U.K. struggled. Inflation in the eurozone edged lower but stayed above the target level set by the central bank, and German retail sales declined after consumers battled high prices and elevated interest rates.
European government bond yields rose after inflation eased in Spain and France. Germany's jobless rate rose to a 3-year high in January, and payrolls were stable in France in the fourth quarter. The Swiss GDP expanded in the fourth quarter and full year of 2023.
European stock market indexes traded in a tight range, and the business confidence indicator unexpectedly declined in February. Moreover, the manufacturing confidence index in Italy decreased, and Sweden's producer price index eased.
Casino Guichard reported deeper losses in fiscal 2023. Worldline reported a loss after taking a large goodwill impairment charge. Taylor Wimpey reported a decline in annual profit in 2023. Just Eat Takeaway.com reported narrower loss in the last fiscal year.
Consumer confidence remained weak in Germany and France amid rising costs of living, higher interest rates, and worries about job security. The UK's retail inflation edged lower in January.
Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt and Paris edged higher, but the index in London traded lower. Bond yields, the euro, and the pound advanced after investors lowered rate-cut expectations.
European markets hovered over recent highs, and bond yields and the euro edged higher. The German economy contracted in the fourth quarter, as previously estimated.
Benchmark indexes in Paris and Frankfurt advanced but they declined in London ahead of the release of the latest policy meeting minutes by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.
European markets hovered near record highs, bond yields edged higher, and the euro, the pound, and the Swiss franc advanced. Natural gas prices in the eurozone dropped to an 8-month low.
