European stock markets ended Friday with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 0.88%, the Swiss Market Index down 1.67%, France's CAC down 1.11%, London's FTSE down 0.81% and Germany's DAX down 1.30%. .
Initial estimates from Eurostat showed seasonally adjusted retail trade volumes fell by 0.5% in the euro zone and 0.4% in the EU in February from the previous quarter. Year-on-year, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index fell by 0.7% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU.
According to the HCOB Eurozone Construction Industry PMI Total Activity Index, the eurozone construction sector continued to experience a sharp decline in production in March, falling to 42.4 from 42.9 in February.
“The performance of the euro area construction sector remains challenging,” Hamburg Commercial Bank economist Tariq Kamal Chaudhry said in a release. “The euro area has been enduring a recession for nearly two years,'' he said.
The average house price in the UK fell 1.0% in March compared to February, when it rose 0.3% from January, according to Halifax's latest house price index.
Meanwhile, UK construction companies recorded an increase in overall industry activity in March as the headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index rose to 50.2 from 49.7 in February. A number above 50.0 indicates an overall expansion in construction output.
According to provisional information from the Federal Statistical Office, orders in the German manufacturing industry increased by 0.2% in February compared to January 2024.
And in corporate news, Stellantis Italy's metalworkers' union FIM/CISL announced on Friday that production in Italy fell by nearly 10% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023. The Amsterdam-based automaker produced 170,415 cars and commercial vans in the quarter (compared to 188,910 in the same period last year). Stellantis fell nearly 2% in the Paris market.
Ocado shares fell 9% on the London market a day after the company's chairman, Rick Haythornwaite, announced he would step down next year. He will not seek re-election to Ocado's board in April 2025 due to his “increasing commitment following his recent appointment as Group Chairman of NatWest Group”.
