European equities moved lower again on Friday as investors remained concerned that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East could drive inflation higher and slow global economic growth.
Although the Trump administration extended its pause on military strikes against Iran by an additional 10 days, reports that the Pentagon may deploy another 10,000 troops to the region have raised concerns about the potential for further escalation.
On the economic front, new data from the Office for National Statistics showed that U.K. retail sales fell in February, marking the first monthly decline in three months, though the drop was smaller than economists had expected.
Seasonally adjusted retail sales volumes decreased 0.4 percent month over month in February, reversing January’s 2.0 percent increase, which had been the strongest monthly gain since May 2024.
Compared with the same month a year earlier, retail sales growth slowed to 2.5 percent in February from 4.8 percent in January.
Across European markets, Germany’s DAX index was down 1.4 percent, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.8 percent, and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4 percent.
Among individual companies, AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN) shares advanced after the company announced that its experimental drug tozorakimab achieved its primary endpoint in two late-stage clinical trials.
French drinks group Pernod Ricard (EU:RI) also moved higher after confirming it is in merger discussions with Jack Daniel’s producer Brown-Forman (NYSE:BF.A).
Meanwhile, shares of GSK (LSE:GSK) declined after the pharmaceutical company said the European Medicines Agency had accepted its marketing authorization application for the drug bepirovirsen.
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