European markets fell on Friday after a difficult start to 2025 for stocks around the world.
The Stoxx 600 Index was down 0.23% by 11:55 a.m. London time, with major regional bourses and sectors trading mostly in negative territory.
Auto stocks led the losses, down 1.24%, as they continued Thursday's decline, while travel and entertainment stocks fell 1.3%. One of the few sectors to rise was financial services stocks, which were last up 0.67%.
Oil and gas stocks also rose 0.78%, led by gains by Finnish oil refiner Neste, which rose 5% and was on track for its best week since October thanks to reports of a series of new airline fuel contracts. The stock recently rose 4.5%.
On the other end of the Stoxx 600 index, Stellantis The Italian automaker's stock fell 3.16% after the Italian automaker announced a 45.7% decline in car production in 2024, its lowest production since 1956, according to Reuters news agency.
The European index closed higher on Thursday after a volatile first trading session this year.
Investors weighed regional and global political uncertainty that could impact markets and the economy, including political instability in France, upcoming elections in Germany and potential tariffs under US President-elect Donald Trump.
US futures were little changed on Friday, after another choppy start to 2025. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended the day lower; For the latter two, it marked the fifth straight session of declines, the longest losing streak since April.
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight, with Chinese stocks extending their declines as investors assessed policy signals from Beijing, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korean markets were in positive territory.
On the data front, Turkey's CPI fell to 44.38% year-on-year in December, down from 47.09% in November. Economists had expected inflation to fall to 45.2%, according to a Reuters poll.
The preliminary Polish CPI reading reflects a 4.8% increase in December year-on-year, which is also below Reuters forecasts.
Meanwhile, the German Federal Employment Office said the number of unemployed rose by 33,000 to 2.807 million in December compared to the previous month. The agency added that the unemployment rate rose by 0.1% to 6%.
