European shares closed lower on Friday, as investors grappled with whipsaw changes in US trade policy throughout the week and digested a slightly softer than expected US jobs report earlier in the day.
US president Donald Trump on Thursday suspended the 25 per cent tariffs he had imposed this week on most goods from Canada and Mexico, in the latest twist to his trade policy that has led markets to increasingly look at tariffs as a negotiating tactic.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares ended the week in negative territory, following its European peers.
The Euronext Dublin was close to 0.7 per cent off the pace by the closing bell, dragged lower by declines in some financial stocks, and heavyweights such as Glanbia and Kingspan.
Ryanair was also lower, declining 2.2 per cent to finish the week at €20.39. Glanbia was 0.9 per cent lower, while FBD was 1.8 per cent off and Bank of Ireland shed almost 1.9 per cent to finish the week at €12.21.
Rival AIB fared better at €6.99 at the closing bell, a 1 per cent increase over the day, and Permanent TSB added 4 per cent to its share price to finish the week at €1.55.
Also in positive territory was hotels group Dalata, which added 1.1 per cent to close at €5.44.
London
The FTSE 100 failed to make up any ground on Friday after a week of losses fuelled by US president Donald Trump’s chaotic changes of policy around trade tariffs.
London’s blue-chip index sank three points to finish the day at 8,680, roughly flat.
In company news, Coventry Building Society reported a drop in its annual profits after seeing mortgage costs fall.
The building society, which is the second largest in the UK behind Nationwide, saw mortgage and savings balances grow through the year, but made less income as interest rates were cut.
The building society completed the £780 million acquisition of rival lender Co-op Bank at the start of 2025.
Meanwhile, Royal London said millions of its customers will share payouts totalling £181 million after the investment group grew its yearly profit and saw wage rises boost pension savings.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.7 per cent for the week, and snapped a 10-session winning streak, its longest since early 2024.
Luxury stocks, exposed to Chinese consumers, fell, with Burberry down 6.8 per cent, Kering falling 3.9 per cent and LVMH off 2.8 per cent. The region-wide European luxury index sank about 2.7 per cent.
Industrial goods and services, that house defence stocks, led declines with a 1.8 per cent loss. Miners followed with a 1.6 per cent decline as copper prices eased.
On the other hand, telecommunications led gains with a 2.1 per cent rise.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes gave up early gains and fell on Friday, dragged down by cyclical stocks after a key US jobs report failed to soothe worries about a slowing economy, while investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve chair.
At 11.40am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 333.31 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 42,245.77, the S&P 500 lost 58.80 points, or 1.02 per cent, to 5,679.72 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 242.95 points, or 1.34 per cent, to 17,826.31.
Cyclical sectors such as consumer discretionary fell 2.6 per cent, while banks such as Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs declined, pushing the broader banks index down 2.8 per cent.
Most megacaps also dropped. Meta and Amazon.com fell 3 per cent each.
A Labor Department report showed job growth picked up in February from the previous month. However, unemployment ticked up to 4.1 per cent, adding to worries about the economy’s resilience.
Following the data, traders revised their expectations of the first rate cut this year to June from May, according to data compiled by LSEG. – Additional reporting: Reuters, PA
