Market snapshot
European stock indices were largely rangebound on Friday as investors digested another round of corporate earnings and parsed regional inflation data at the close of a busy week. At 03:10 ET (08:10 GMT), Germany's DAX was essentially flat, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.1% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose about 0.2%.
Quarterly earnings flow
Companies continued to deliver fourth-quarter results, extending a week of heavy corporate disclosure across the region. More than half of the STOXX 600 index constituents have now reported results for the quarter, and, on aggregate, European earnings are running slightly ahead of consensus, a factor that helped push the broader index to record highs on Thursday.
Individual company reports showed a mix of outcomes.
- Swiss Re posted record annual net income of $4.76 billion, a 47% increase from the prior year. The reinsurer, however, flagged a setback in its life and health reinsurance unit, which missed its earnings target after recording a $650 million assumption-update charge tied to underperforming portfolios in Australia, Israel and South Korea.
- BASF reported a 9.5% decline in full-year earnings. The German chemicals firm said its core chemicals business was close to breaking even in the fourth quarter and leaned heavily on capital expenditure reductions to bolster free cash flow.
- Holcim achieved a record recurring EBIT margin of 18.3% in 2025, an increase of 80 basis points. The Swiss building materials group completed the spinoff of its North American operations and immediately moved to expand in Europe and Latin America by agreeing to buy European walling maker Xella and a majority stake in Cementos Pacasmayo of Peru.
- Melrose Industries reported a 23% increase in adjusted operating profit for 2025 and reversed to positive free cash flow for the first time in two years. The British aerospace and defence supplier also returned £255 million to shareholders via buybacks and dividends, although net debt increased.
M&A development: Netflix declines to raise Warner Bros offer
In cross-Atlantic corporate news, Netflix announced on Thursday that it would not increase its offer for Warner Bros Discovery after the target company determined that a proposal from Paramount Skydance constituted a superior bid under the terms of its existing merger agreement. Netflix co-chief executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer would make the transaction unattractive on financial grounds, and therefore Netflix declined to match the bid.
Macro and inflation focus
On the economic front, France reported fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.2%, in line with expectations, while consumer inflation in France accelerated by 0.7% in February following a 0.3% decline the previous month. German inflation readings are scheduled later in the session and are expected to draw close scrutiny from European Central Bank policymakers in advance of their next policy meeting in mid-month.
Energy markets
Oil prices inched higher on Friday but looked set to post weekly losses. Brent futures rose roughly 0.7% to $71.29 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures gained about 0.8% to $65.74 a barrel. For the week, Brent was largely unchanged while WTI was poised to fall about 1%, reversing part of the prior week's gains.
Market participants had been reassessing risk following an extension of talks between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program. Those diplomatic exchanges concluded with no clear deal on Thursday, but participants signalled plans to resume negotiations, with technical-level discussions scheduled for next week in Vienna, according to a post by Oman's foreign minister on social media. The easing of immediate military-hostility concerns contributed to downward pressure on oil prices earlier in the week.
Bottom line
Friday's quiet trading in Europe reflected a market in which earnings momentum, regional inflation signals and geopolitical developments in energy markets are all being absorbed by investors ahead of upcoming policy dates and ongoing corporate announcements. With more than half of STOXX 600 companies having released results and selective corporate headlines dominating the tape, market participants remained attentive to both company-level details and macroeconomic readings that could influence central bank deliberations.