European and American stock markets were mixed on Friday after showing gains earlier in the week due to expectations of multiple interest rate cuts later this year.
On Wall Street, the Dow fell due to poor performance from Nike, which provided a less positive outlook.
The broader S&P 500 slightly decreased, while the technology-focused Nasdaq increased and set a new record for the third consecutive day.
Frankfurt saw an increase after a survey indicated improved business confidence, while Paris ended the day with lower numbers.
Charles Schwab analyst Joe Mazzola stated that the markets were taking a break after a busy week.
He said, “The market goes into the final week of the first quarter with optimism about the economy and renewed confidence that the Federal Reserve will likely reduce interest rates later this year.”
London, which has been behind most major markets so far this year, performed the best on Friday with the FTSE 100 index increasing by 0.6 percent.
The index had gone up by almost two percent on Thursday after the Bank of England hinted at potential interest rate cuts over the UK summer.
Kathleen Brooks, an analyst at XTB.com, mentioned, “The FTSE 100 is benefiting more than the other indices because it was cheap.”
She added, “This change in rate cut expectations from the BOE is like a red flag to a bull, and markets have rallied sharply.”
– ‘Some second-guessing’ –
The Swiss National Bank became the first major central bank to cut rates in an effort to address rising inflation on Thursday, followed later in the day by the Bank of Mexico.
Equities worldwide surged on Thursday in response to the Federal Reserve’s projections that it would reduce borrowing costs three times this year, even after data showed prices increasing in January and February.
Apple recovered slightly on Friday after facing setbacks on Thursday when US regulators announced antitrust proceedings against the company for restricting competition in the iPhone ecosystem.
Nike experienced a drop of about seven percent after presenting a less enthusiastic short-term outlook, despite making headlines by signing a sponsorship deal with the German national football team, which had been associated with Adidas since the 1950s.
Adidas shares increased by half a percent, in line with the broader Frankfurt market, which was boosted by a significant survey demonstrating a larger-than-expected rise in German business confidence in March.
The closely monitored confidence barometer from the Ifo institute, based on a survey of around 9,000 companies, rose to 87.8 points from 85.7 in February.
– Key figures around 2050 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.8 per cent at 39,475.90 (close)
New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 per cent at 5,234.18 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 per cent at 16,428.82 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 per cent at 7,930.92 points (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 per cent at 8,151.92 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.2 per cent at 18,205.94 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.4 per cent at 5,031.15 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 per cent at 40,888.43 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.2 per cent at 16,499.47 (close)
Shanghai Composite index dropped by 1.0 percent to 3,048.03 at the close.
The pound fell against the dollar, now at $1.2601 from $1.2658 on Thursday.
The dollar decreased to 151.40 yen from 151.62 yen.
The euro went down to $1.0812 from $1.0860 against the dollar.
The euro's value in pounds decreased to 85.77 pence from 85.79 pence.
Brent North Sea Crude dropped by 0.4 percent to $85.43 per barrel.
West Texas Intermediate decreased by 0.5 percent to $80.63 per barrel.
