European stock markets traded lower on Friday as rising tensions between the United States and Iran prompted investors to scale back exposure to higher-risk assets.
Market participants were also monitoring political developments in the United Kingdom after early nationwide election results pointed to significant losses for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, while Nigel Farage’s Reform U.K. party appeared to make substantial gains.
On the economic front, Germany’s industrial production fell 0.7 per cent in March, according to figures released by Destatis, marking a second consecutive monthly contraction. Economists had expected a 0.4 per cent increase following February’s 0.5 per cent decline.
Compared with the same period last year, German industrial output was down 2.8 per cent after a 0.2 per cent annual decline in the previous reading.
In the United Kingdom, Halifax data showed house prices slipped for a second month in April amid uncertainty linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Property prices declined 0.1 per cent month-on-month, following a 0.5 per cent fall in March, while analysts had anticipated no monthly change.
The FTSE 100 was lower by 0.1 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 declined 0.8 per cent and Germany’s DAX dropped 0.9 per cent.
Among individual stocks, Commerzbank (TG:CBK) fell after unveiling large-scale job cuts tied to an artificial intelligence restructuring programme.
Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza (BIT:1LONN) also traded lower despite reporting solid first-quarter results and reaffirming its outlook for 2026.
British Airways parent company IAG (LSE:IAG) came under pressure after warning that annual profit would be weaker than previously expected.
In contrast, German chemicals group Evonik (TG:EVK) advanced after reporting first-quarter adjusted earnings above market expectations.
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