Major stock markets in Europe closed lower on Friday after companies including Sanofi S.A. and NatWest Group plc reported discouraging financial results in the third fiscal quarter of 2023 and the European Central Bank (ECB), despite pausing its interest rate hikes, dismissing the option of cuts in those in the near future.
The DAX closed 0.30% lower as Covestro AG fell by 3.41% at 5:35 pm CET. The FTSE 100 decreased by 0.82%, with NatWest plunging by 11.10%. The CAC 40 declined by 1.21%. The Eurostoxx 50 went down by 0.71%. Sanofi was the worst performer on the latter two indexes, sinking by 18.56%.
The euro rose by 0.30% against the dollar at 5:28 pm CET to sell for $1.05944. A minute later, the pound sterling grew by 0.18% against the United States currency to go for $1.21497.