France stocks lower at close of trade; CAC 40 down 0.94%

Investing.com – Belgium stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Consumer Services and Financials sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Brussels, the BEL 20 rose 0.13%.

The best performers of the session on the BEL 20 were Elia (EBR:ELI), which rose 17.12% or 11.05 points to trade at 75.60 at the close. Meanwhile, Solvay SA (EBR:SOLB) added 6.60% or 2.16 points to end at 34.88 and Warehouses de Pauw Comm VA (EBR:WDPP) was up 5.16% or 1.03 points to 20.98 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Umicore SA (EBR:UMI), which fell 5.82% or 0.55 points to trade at 8.90 at the close. Argen-X (EBR:ARGX) declined 3.94% or 22.80 points to end at 555.40 and Azelis Corporate Services NV (EBR:AZE) was down 2.53% or 0.48 points to 18.52.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Brussels Stock Exchange by 60 to 31 and 15 ended unchanged.

Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.13% or 3.75 to $2,922.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in April rose 1.45% or 0.96 to hit $67.32 a barrel, while the May Brent oil contract rose 1.60% or 1.11 to trade at $70.57 a barrel.

EUR/USD was up 0.66% to 1.09, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.39% to 0.84.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.36% at 103.65.

Investing.com - European stock markets sank on Friday, as investors digested the latest European Central Bank rate reduction ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policies.

At 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had fallen by 0.5%, the DAX index in Germany dropped 1.6%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 1.0% and the FTSE 100 in the UK dipped 0.5%.

ECB cuts again

The ECB cut interest rates once more on Thursday, as widely expected, its sixth cut since June, but said monetary policy was becoming less restrictive as inflation falls towards its 2% target.

The central bank also lowered its growth forecast for 2025 due in large part to uncertainty around global trade tension.

While this would point to further cuts, ECB President Christine Lagarde stopped short of reaffirming that rates were on a downward path and instead said that a reduction or a pause were both on the cards.

"The ECB delivered a neutral to marginally hawkish rate cut. We believe the change in wording on restrictiveness is at the margin more hawkish than we expected," Nomura economists said in a note late on Thursday.

Nomura now expects the ECB to lower rates only once this year, having earlier this week lowered its rate cut outlook to two reductions from four in 2025, citing the impact of potential fiscal loosening in Germany.

Data released earlier Friday showed that German industrial orders in January fell by 7% from the previous month, as the previous month’s upswing petered out.

December orders had risen significantly more than expected on a burst of demand for aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles.

The parties hoping to form Germany’s next government this week agreed to overhaul state borrowing rules to boost defence spending, while also boosting infrastructure investments.

Trade uncertainty

Investors are also having to digest U.S. President Donald Trump whipsawing trade policies.

Trump escalated trade tensions at the start of the week by imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and raising Chinese tariffs to 20%.

However, after just two days, he eased his stance, delaying the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until April 2.

The move, while offering temporary relief, has added to market volatility and uncertainty as markets remain unclear about U.S. trade policies.

This uncertainty has weighed on sentiment, and investors will focus on U.S. jobs data and a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the session for more guidance over future monetary policy.

Crude set for weekly decline

Oil prices rose Friday, but were set for a hefty weekly decline amid uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy at the same time major producers are set to increase output.

At 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT), Brent futures rose 1.6% to $70.55 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 1.5% to $67.37 a barrel.

However, for the week both contracts are off over 3%.

Markets, including oil, have been whipsawed by fluctuating trade policy in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Investing.com -- Atos (EPA:ATOS) on Friday said it is set to implement a reverse stock split, with the process beginning on March 25, as part of efforts to stabilize its share structure and reduce volatility.

Shares of the company, operating in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and high-performance computing, fell over 8% by 03:25 ET (08:25 GMT).

The French IT company announced that the operation will involve exchanging 10,000 existing shares with a par value of €0.0001 each for a single new share valued at €1.

The move follows an increase in Atos’ share count due to capital raises under its accelerated safeguard plan.

With shares currently trading at low values, the restructuring aims to normalize the number of outstanding shares and foster a more stable stock market performance.

While the reverse stock split will not alter the overall value of individual shareholders’ holdings, it is expected to create a clearer market dynamic for investors.

Under the terms set by the company’s board of directors, the exchange period for shareholders will last for 30 days, from March 25 to April 23.

During this time, investors can adjust their holdings to ensure they hold multiples of 10,000 old shares, which will be automatically converted into new ones.

Shareholders left with fractional shares at the end of the period will be compensated by their financial intermediaries in line with French market regulations.

The final day of trading for the old shares will be April 23, after which they will be delisted. The newly consolidated shares will begin trading on Euronext (EPA:ENX) Paris on April 24 under the new ISIN code FR001400X2S4.

Atos confirmed that new shares will retain full voting rights, while old shares that are not exchanged will lose voting rights and dividend eligibility.

Investing.com - European stock markets sank on Friday, as investors digested the latest European Central Bank rate reduction ahead of the release of key U.S. employment data amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policies.

At 04:03 ET (09:03 GMT), the pan-European Stoxx 600 had fallen by 0.9%, the DAX index in Germany dropped 1.5%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 1.0% and the FTSE 100 in the UK dipped 0.4%.

ECB cuts again

The ECB cut interest rates once more on Thursday, as widely expected, its sixth cut since June, but said monetary policy was becoming less restrictive as inflation falls towards its 2% target.

The central bank also lowered its growth forecast for 2025 due in large part to uncertainty around global trade tension.

While this would point to further cuts, ECB President Christine Lagarde stopped short of reaffirming that rates were on a downward path and instead said that a reduction or a pause were both on the cards.

"The ECB delivered a neutral to marginally hawkish rate cut. We believe the change in wording on restrictiveness is at the margin more hawkish than we expected," Nomura economists said in a note late on Thursday.

Nomura now expects the ECB to lower rates only once this year, having earlier this week lowered its rate cut outlook to two reductions from four in 2025, citing the impact of potential fiscal loosening in Germany.

Data released earlier Friday showed that German industrial orders in January fell by 7% from the previous month, as the previous month’s upswing petered out.

December orders had risen significantly more than expected on a burst of demand for aircraft, ships, trains and military vehicles.

The parties hoping to form Germany’s next government this week agreed to overhaul state borrowing rules to boost defence spending, while also boosting infrastructure investments.

Trade uncertainty

Investors are also having to digest U.S. President Donald Trump whipsawing trade policies.

Trump escalated trade tensions at the start of the week by imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods and raising Chinese tariffs to 20%.

However, after just two days, he eased his stance, delaying the 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until April 2.

The move, while offering temporary relief, has added to market volatility and uncertainty as markets remain unclear about U.S. trade policies.

This uncertainty has weighed on sentiment, and investors will focus on U.S. jobs data and a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the session for more guidance over future monetary policy.

Crude set for hefty weekly decline

Oil prices rose Friday, but were set for their biggest weekly decline since October amid uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy at the same time major producers are set to increase output.

At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), Brent futures rose 0.2% to $69.63 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.2% to $66.48 a barrel.

However, for the week Brent is down 4.9%, set for its biggest weekly decline since the week of October 14. WTI is set to drop 4.8%, also its biggest weekly fall since that week.

Markets, including oil, have been whipsawed by fluctuating trade policy in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Investing.com – Netherlands stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Financials and Healthcare sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Amsterdam, the AEX rose 0.13%.

The best performers of the session on the AEX were ArcelorMittal SA (AS:MT), which rose 6.63% or 2.00 points to trade at 32.17 at the close. Meanwhile, Randstad NV (AS:RAND) added 5.69% or 2.31 points to end at 42.91 and ING Groep NV (AS:INGA) was up 4.88% or 0.87 points to 18.75 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were BE Semiconductor Industries NV (AS:BESI), which fell 4.89% or 5.20 points to trade at 101.05 at the close. ASM International NV (AS:ASMI) declined 4.80% or 23.00 points to end at 455.70 and Adyen NV (AS:ADYEN) was down 2.86% or 49.00 points to 1,662.60.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by 48 to 46 and 15 ended unchanged.

Shares in ArcelorMittal SA (AS:MT) rose to 3-years highs; up 6.63% or 2.00 to 32.17. Shares in ASM International NV (AS:ASMI) fell to 52-week lows; losing 4.80% or 23.00 to 455.70. Shares in ING Groep NV (AS:INGA) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 4.88% or 0.87 to 18.75.

The AEX Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of AEX options, was unchanged 0.00% to 21.09.

Crude oil for April delivery was down 0.98% or 0.65 to $65.66 a barrel. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Brent oil for delivery in May fell 0.75% or 0.52 to hit $68.78 a barrel, while the April Gold Futures contract fell 0.06% or 1.76 to trade at $2,924.24 a troy ounce.

EUR/USD was unchanged 0.21% to 1.08, while EUR/GBP unchanged 0.26% to 0.84.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.26% at 103.98.