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European markets close slightly lower to round off cautious week

Jenni Reid
Hannah Ward-Glenton

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets were slightly lower at the end of a muted trading week and ahead of key monetary policy meetings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed down 0.2%, with sectors spread across gains and losses. Utilities saw a 0.7% uptick, while chemicals dropped 2%.

European markets


Investors appeared cautious ahead of interest rate decisions to come next week from the U.S. Federal Reserve — where markets are pricing in around a 72% chance of a pause, according to CME's FedWatch tool — and the European Central Bank, where many analysts expect another 25 basis point hike despite the freshly-declared euro zone recession.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher. U.S. stocks also rose in morning trade, with the S&P 500 hitting the 4,300 benchmark for the first time since August 2022.

We’re expecting Asia to outperform the West, Morgan Stanley says

We're expecting Asia to outperform the West, Morgan Stanley says
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We're expecting Asia to outperform the West, Morgan Stanley says
Squawk Box Europe

Bruna Skarica, U.K. economist at Morgan Stanley, discusses the outlook for global markets.

HSBC pulls some UK mortgage deals

The U.K.'s biggest bank, HSBC, temporarily withdrew mortgage deals via broker services on Thursday, as the effect of higher interest rates ripples through the British housing market.

HSBC told CNBC Friday that it was reviewing the situation regularly, but did not specify whether the new deals would differ from its previous offerings. 

Read the full story here.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

ECB likely to opt for June hike despite euro zone recession, ING says

The European Central Bank looks set to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points at its June 15 meeting despite figures this week showing the euro zone entered a recession, according to Dutch bank ING.

"Macro developments since the May meeting have clearly had more to offer the doves than the hawks at the ECB," said Carsten Brzeski, ING's global head of macro. Brzeski cited the weak economic data and fall in core and headline inflation.

"However, the ECB is fully determined right now to err on the side of higher rates," he continued. "Despite the recent decreases, actual headline and core inflation and expectations for inflation only to return to target in two years from now are clear arguments for the ECB to not only continue hiking by 25bp next week but to also keep the door open for rate hikes beyond then."

— Jenni Reid

Stocks tick higher Friday

U.S. stocks rose slightly Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, falling 28 points, or 0.08%.

— Hakyung Kim

Markets are in the eye of the storm right now: Edison Group

Neil Shah, director of content and strategy at Edison Group, says "this unusual period of low volatility is not a window of what is to come" and weighs in on the outlook for stocks.

Markets are in the eye of the storm right now: Edison Group
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Markets are in the eye of the storm right now: Edison Group
Street Signs Europe

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open marginally higher Friday. The FTSE will reach 7,606 with an 8-point uptick, according to IG data, while Germany's DAX will gain 1 point to 15,995. France's CAC will be up 2 points to 7,226, while Italy's MIB will move 7 points up to 27,274.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

CNBC Pro: UBS strategist: There’s too much risk in Big Tech right now — here's where to invest instead

Big Tech valuations have been driven higher by excitement over A.I, but a UBS strategist believes there's another sector that can now offer similar returns with less risk.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

S&P 500 is on pace for a four-week winning streak

The S&P 500 is headed for a fourth straight week of gains for the first time since last August. As of Thursday's close, the broader index was higher by nearly 0.3%.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is on pace for a second consecutive week of gains, or its best streak since its four straight weeks of gains ending in April. The benchmark is higher by 0.2%.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite is on pace to break a six-week winning streak. The tech-heavy index is just slightly down for the week, by 0.02%.

— Sarah Min, Chris Hayes

CNBC Pro: Forget Nvidia: Fund manager says buy these two chip giants instead, giving one 30% upside

At the center of the recent AI excitement lies Nvidia.

But one fund manager told CNBC Pro he would not buy Nvidia right now. He explains why and says he would invest in two other chip giants instead.

He calls one "very cheap" and "a great story at a great valuation," and the other a "keystone in all technology," giving one of them 30% potential upside.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan