Last Friday, the leading stock indices of Western Europe closed the trading session in different directions. At the same time, all three benchmarks reported impressive growth last week. European stock exchanges were closed on Monday due to the Christmas holidays.

On Friday, the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose by 0.04% - to 427.45 points. According to the results of five trading days, the index gained 0.6%, showing growth for the first time in three weeks.

Earlier, Bloomberg, the leading American provider of financial information, reported that the STOXX Europe 600 indicator ended the current year with a drop of more than 13%. This will be the sharpest decline for European equities since 2018, and the experts call the negative consequences of the situation in Ukraine, as well as the global energy crisis the main reasons for it.

The day before, the French CAC 40 lost 0.2%, the German DAX declined by 0.19%, and the British FTSE 100 gained 0.05%. Over the past week, the FTSE 100 gained 1.92%, the CAC 40 rose 0.81% and the DAX jumped 0.34%.

Leaders of growth and decline

The share price of the British marketing company S4 Capital PLC soared by 4.2%.

Philips NV, a Dutch manufacturer of consumer goods and medical equipment, rose 4.05%.

The share price of the German manufacturer of materials handling equipment Kion Group AG increased by 3.9%.

The share price of English manufacturer of luxury sports cars Aston Martin Lagonda rose by 0.5%.

Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, a British aerospace and defense company, rose by 0.6%.

Swiss food maker Nestle S.A. sank 0.15% after chief executive Francois-Xavier Roger forecast a challenging six months in the first half of 2023.

Market sentiment

On Friday, European investors analyzed new data for the countries of the region. According to the final data of the Spanish statistical office INE, Spanish GDP grew a mere 0.1% in July-September in quarterly terms after a sharp rise of 2% in April-June. At the same time, preliminary analysts' data from INE showed an increase of the Spanish economy in the third quarter by 0.2%.

The decline in GDP growth was due primarily to a weak rebound in consumer spending (0.1% in the third quarter against 1.7% in the second quarter) and exports (1.5% against 5.4%).

In annual terms, the Spanish economy in July-September 2022 gained 4.4% after a growth of 7.6% in April-June. Previously, experts reported economic output expanded by 3.8% on an annual basis.

Meanwhile, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders of Great Britain (SMMT), British car production rose 5.7% to 80,091 units in November against growth of 75,756 in the same month of 2021. The increase was recorded for the second straight month.

Trading results the day before

On Thursday, the leading stock indices of Western Europe closed the trading session in the red zone. Benchmarks initially showed strong growth, but eventually fell. The key reason for the final market decline was the release of the latest data on the US GDP.

The Stoxx Europe 600 600 shed 0.08% to 431.10 points.

France's CAC 40 was down 0.95%, Germany's DAX lost 1.3% and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.37%.

The share price of Swedish energy company Orron Energy AB went up by 3.6%.

German automotive and arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG rose by 3.5%.

The share price of Danish bank Danske Bank A/S gained 3.2% during the day.

British medical company Deltex Medical Group PLC soared by 12.9%.

The share price of Danish bank Sydbank AS increased by 3.2%. The company improved its annual profit forecast amid rising interest rates by global central banks. Tightening of monetary policy by key central banks contributed to growth of Sydbank AS income in the fourth quarter.

On Thursday, European investors analyzed new data on the countries of the region. According to the final data of the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS), GDP was revealed to have shrunk 0.3% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter.

At the same time, preliminary data from the ONS indicated a 0.2% contraction of the economy in England, and analysts generally did not expect a revision of the preliminary estimate.

The drop in gross domestic product of Great Britain was recorded for the first time in the last 1.5 years. The key reasons for the decline of the economy were rising energy costs and an increase in key interest rates by European central banks.

By the way, the country's GDP grew by 1.9% year-on-year, rather than by 2.4% as previously reported.

On Thursday, European investors also turned their attention to the negative trends on the U.S. stock exchanges. Thus, leading U.S. stock indicators were down 2-3%.

As for the latest news from the United States, according to analysts' final estimates, the country's gross domestic product grew 3.2% in the third quarter. The stronger-than-forecasted data on the U.S. economy for the previous quarter fueled concerns about the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening in the near future.