European stocks slip at end of busy week; Heathrow airport closes
European stock markets edged lower Friday, closing the week on a negative note amid uncertainty over the state of the global economy, News.Az reports citing Investing.
At 04:02 ET (08:02 GMT), the DAX index in Germany dropped 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.3% and the FTSE 100 in the UK fell 0.3%.
Central bank decisions to digest
Investors are digesting mixed signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve this week, as well as persistent threats of more trade tariffs and growing concerns over a U.S. economic slowdown.
On top of this, there were a number of central bank meetings in Europe for investors to study.
The Swiss National Bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points, while the Bank of England and Sweden’s Riksbank held rates unchanged.
Attention will also be on the passage of legislation in Germany to create a hefty fund for infrastructure and to allow higher spending on defence.
The plan was approved this week in the lower house Bundestag, and heads to the Bundesrat upper house later in the session.
Fire closes Heathrow airport
In the corporate sector, European airline stocks are likely to be in focus after it was announced that Heathrow Airport will be closed all day Friday after a fire at a nearby electrical substation that supplies it with power.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, warned of "significant disruption" over the coming days, with flight tracking website Flightradar24 indicating that over 1,300 flights to and from the airport in west London could be cancelled today.
Elsewhere, German steel group Salzgitter (ETR:SZGG) blamed its weak sales outlook on the stagnation of the German economy, as well as escalating trade tensions between the United States and its trading partners.
JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW) reported higher revenue for the first half of its financial year, but rising costs, particularly in wages and utilities, weighed on profitability at the pub chain.
Crude gains with supply set to tighten
Oil prices pushed higher Friday, on course for gains for the second consecutive week, as fresh U.S. sanctions against Iran and plans to cut production by a group of major producers pointed to tighter supplies in the coming months.
At 04:02 ET, Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to $72.11 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.2% to $66.20 a barrel.
On a weekly basis, both contacts were on track to register gains of around 2%, their biggest weekly gains since the first week of 2025.
The U.S. on Thursday issued new sanctions against Iran as part of its goal to deter Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, targeting an independent Chinese refinery and several oil tankers - which Washington claims are a part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of vessels.
Additionally, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, said that seven of its member states will cut output to make up for recent production increases.
The plan will entail monthly cuts of between 189,000 and 435,000 barrels per day, and will last until June 2026.
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