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European stocks close slightly higher, extending record; Phoenix Group shares up 8%

Sam Meredith

This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets closed up slightly after stocks soared to an all-time high in the previous session.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed higher by 0.02%, with sectors mixed. Tech and travel stocks led the losses, down 0.7% and 1.17%, respectively.

European markets


The market moves come after a flurry of interest rate decisions in recent days.

The Swiss National Bank surprised markets on Thursday by lowering its main policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.5%. The decision made Switzerland the first major economy to cut interest rates in a sign of policymakers' growing confidence in the battle to tame inflation.

The Bank of England held interest rates as expected on Thursday, but hinted cuts could be on the horizon as inflation falls faster than anticipated. Meanwhile, Norway's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged and forecast a single cut to the cost of borrowing later in the year.

Earlier in the week, the Federal Reserve reaffirmed expectations for three interest rate cuts this year and kept borrowing costs unchanged at its two-day March policy meeting.

Asia-Pacific markets declined on Friday, although Japan's Nikkei 225 briefly crossed 41,000 to hit a fresh all-time high. U.S. stocks inched lower after all three major averages registered records in the previous session.

Europe stocks close slightly higher

European stocks closed slightly higher Friday, rounding off a bumper week that sees the Stoxx 600 index close at a record high.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 also extended its all-time high from Thursday, climbing 0.6%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.2% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.34%.

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Stoxx 600 index.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. stocks open little changed, but head for winning week

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 20 points, while the S&P 500 hovered near the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.15%.

— Samantha Subin

Vodafone and Three's merger faces in-depth competition probe

A pedestrian walks past a Vodafone store in central London on May 16, 2023. British mobile giant Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cull to hit the tech sector, as new boss Margherita Della Valle slammed recent performance.
Adrian Dennis | AFP | Getty Images

A U.K. regulator has given Vodafone and CK Hutchison five working days to come up with remedies to competition concerns surrounding the proposed merger of their U.K. businesses, or else risk facing an in-depth "Phase 2" antitrust investigation.

The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it believes the deal between Vodafone and Three U.K., which is the U.K. arm of CK Hutchison, would lead to higher prices for consumers and reduce the quality of their networks.

Vodafone and Three disagreed with the CMA's findings and said they remain confident the transaction would deliver benefits for customers in the U.K.

They added that, as things stand, their operations are currently sub-scale and unable to cover their cost of capital, and that the deal would allow them to invest and compete more effectively with market leaders EE and Virgin Media O2.

— Ryan Browne

Tech stocks fall 1.5%

European stocks stood 0.2% lower in early afternoon deals on Friday. Tech stocks led the losses, down 1.5%.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies and Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML were among the biggest fallers, both down over 2% for the session.

— Sam Meredith

Aston Martin names Bentley’s Adrian Hallmark as its new chief executive

The exterior of an Aston Martin store.
Jeremy Moeller | Getty Images News | Getty Images

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin on Friday announced Bentley head Adrian Hallmark has been appointed as its new chief executive officer.

Hallmark will start his new role no later than Oct. 1, the company said.

Shares of London-listed Aston Martin Lagonda rose 1.5% on the news.

— Sam Meredith

Shares of Phoenix Group up 7%

Shares of British insurer Phoenix Group rose 7% on Friday morning, climbing to the top of the European benchmark after reporting an upbeat outlook.

The company posted £2.024 million ($2.548 million) in total cash generation for the full-year 2023, exceeding its upgraded target of £1.8 billion for the year, and said it had achieved its 2025 growth target two years early.

Shares of the Phoenix Group are down around 2.6% year-to-date.

— Sam Meredith

Europe markets open slightly lower

European stocks opened lower on Friday, with most sectors in negative territory, while major bourses pointed in opposite directions.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.2% lower shortly after the opening bell. Tech stocks led the losses, down by 0.9%.

— Sam Meredith

CNBC Pro: 'Substantially affected by AI': RBC names 3 lesser-known stocks as beneficiaries

The rising demand for generative artificial intelligence has led to a surge in shares of many AI-linked companies like chipmaker Nvidia and ChatGPT backer Microsoft. Now, RBC Capital Markets has identified three lesser-known companies poised to cash in on the AI boom in a big way.

RBC noted that major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft and Google are packing data centers — facilities that host computer servers — with tens of thousands of power-hungry AI chips, driving a surge in demand for infrastructure like cooling systems and electrical equipment.

To meet that demand, one of the companies identified by RBC is setting up facilities dubbed "AI factories."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: Want to play red hot gold prices? Buy these 3 stocks, says top hedge fund manager

After the U.S. Federal Reserve left rates unchanged and penciled in three rate cuts this year, gold prices soared as high as $2,222.39 per ounce - a new record high - earlier in Thursday's session.

Top hedge fund manager David Neuhauser is predicting the price of gold to reach $2,500 by the end of 2025, and $3,000 by 2030.

Even in this environment, not all gold stocks are equal – with some big miners underperforming despite the record gold price, according to Neuhauser.

He names three stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets were poised to open in negative territory on Friday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is set to open around 3 points lower at 7,882, Germany's DAX down 17 points at 18,155, France's CAC 18 points lower at 8,162 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 48 points at 33,724, according to data from IG.

Earnings are set to come from the U.K.'s JD Wetherspoon. Data releases include German business sentiment for March, and Russia's central bank will decide on interest rates.

— Sam Meredith