European stocks close higher as investors digest GDP data; NatWest slides 4%

Markus Steilemann, CEO at Covestro, says the company can keep and maintain a strong balance sheet despite negative cashflow in the first quarter.

The three major U.S. indexes opened Friday's session down.

The Dow slipped 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each shed 0.2%.

— Alex Harring

Ludovic Subran, chief economist of Allianz, says food inflation is still worryingly high in Europe and the European Central Bank will announce at least another two interest rate hikes.

Stefan Dörfler, chief financial officer of the Austrian lender Erste Group, discusses its first-quarter earnings.

The Swiss National Bank pledged to review banking regulations during its annual general meeting in Bern.

Set against a backdrop of protest over its action on climate change and its role in the emergency sale of Credit Suisse to Swiss rival UBS, Thomas Jordan, chairman of the governing board at the SNB, said banking regulation and supervision will have to be reviewed in light of recent events.

"This will require in-depth analysis ... quick fixes must be avoided," he said, according to a statement.

The central bank played a key role in brokering the rescue of Credit Suisse over the course of a chaotic weekend in March.

Read the full story here.

— Elliot Smith

Shares of Remy Cointreau dropped more than 10% after the spirits group said it expected sales to "strongly decline" in the next two quarters due to high performance last year and weaker demand in the U.S., though forecast a rebound after that.

Its sales growth in the full year ending March 31 beat expectations.

Meanwhile banks including Caixabank, Unicredit, Commerzbank and NatWest fell as the overall sector dropped 2%, despite several banks — including Natwest — beating analyst forecasts in their quarterly results.

— Jenni Reid

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index extended earlier losses, sliding to -0.4% as the euro zone GDP grew less than expected in the first quarter of the year.

The euro zone economy grew by 0.1% in the first three months of 2023, preliminary Eurostat figures showed, falling short of the 0.2% growth projected by a poll of Reuters economists.

Banks led losses, shedding 2.3% since the start of trade, while health care stocks led minor gains with a 0.5% uptick.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Alfred Kammer, director of the European department at the International Monetary Fund, says core inflation is persistently high and "there's nothing worse than pausing an inflation-fighting effort too early … because if you need to do it a second time, the costs to the economy are so much larger."

Deutsche Bank announced it has agreed on an all-cash offer for British corporate broker and advisor Numis Corporation Plc, valuing the firm at around £410 million (£511 million).

The German lender, which reported solid first-quarter results on Thursday, said the deal would give it "deeper engagement with the corporate client segment in the UK."

Numis shares rocketed 67.65% higher in early trade.

Deutsche Bank shares were up 0.3%.

— Jenni Reid

Harald Wilhelm, CFO of Mercedes-Benz, discusses its first-quarter earnings and explains the company's pricing strategy for electrical vehicles.

France's economy grew by 0.2% in the first quarter, national statistics showed.

Domestic demand weighed on growth, down 0.1 points, though that improved from a 0.4 point decline in the prior quarter. Household consumption held steady, gross fixed capital formation fell slightly and foreign trade increased.

Euro zone gross domestic product figures are due later in the morning.

— Jenni Reid

European stock markets look set for a positive open on Friday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was on course for a 20.7 point rise to 7,850.3, according to ig.com. France's CAC 40 was seen up 32 points to 7,505.8, Germany's DAX up 61.5 points to 15,859 and Italy's MIB up 152.5 points to 27,091.

— Jenni Reid

The Bank of Japan left its interest rates unchanged in newly appointed Governor Kazuo Ueda's first policy meeting.

The decision was in line with economist expectations for no changes to the benchmark interest rate, which has been held at minus 0.1% since the central bank took rates below zero in 2016.

The Japanese yen weakened further to 134.6 against the U.S. dollar and the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bonds was at 0.460%.

Ueda has earlier this week emphasized inflation needs to be "quite strong and close to 2%" — the central bank's target — before making any adjustments to the yield curve control policy.

— Jihye Lee

The pharma stock behind a popular weight-loss drug is up 137% since the treatment was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Barclays investment bank expects the stock to rise further as the market for obesity treatment drugs could be more than $100 billion, according to Barclays.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Chip stocks have rebounded this year after performing poorly in 2022.

The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index is up nearly 17% in the year to date, making this sector one of the brightest spots in the market turmoil.

CNBC Pro takes a look at semiconductor stocks that the banks are giving further upside to.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Shares of beleaguered regional bank First Republic were climbing on Thursday, giving the stock a reprieve after two days of heavy selling.

The stock rose 71 cents, or about 12%, but is still trading below $7 per share.

First Republic's stock closed at $16 per share on Monday before the bank released its first quarter results, which showed that deposits shrank by about 40% in the first three months of the year.

First Republic and its advisors are trying convince other banks to buy some of its assets at above market rates to allow First Republic to reshape its balance sheet, CNBC reported Wednesday.

— Jesse Pound

The U.S. economy expanded by 1.1% in the first quarter, a much-slower-than-expected pace, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast expansion of 2%, per Dow Jones. The report showed stronger inflation with prices increasing 4%, compared with an estimate of 3.7%.

— Jeff Cox