European markets closed lower Friday, rounding off a choppy first week of the new year, as investors reacted to euro zone inflation data and December's U.S. jobs report.
The Stoxx 600 ended 0.3% lower as most sectors and major bourses fell into negative territory. Retail stocks fell 1.1% to lead losses after data showed German retail sales dropped far more than expected in November. Banking stocks, meanwhile, were higher, up 0.5%.
European markets
The pan-European index gained 0.7% on Thursday, following two negative sessions. Stock markets in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific have had a mostly negative start to 2024, with the major Wall Street averages on course to snap nine-week winning runs.
Euro zone inflation climbed to an annual 2.9% in December from 2.4% the previous month, initial flash estimates showed on Friday, though came in just below a 3% forecast from a Reuters poll of economists.
In the U.S., December's jobs report showed employers added 216,000 jobs for the month, vastly outstripping a Dow Jones consensus estimate of 170,000 while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%.
Investors will be assessing whether the data indicates enough cooling in the economy for imminent interest rate cuts.