European markets lower; ASML sheds 2.5% after Nvidia sell-off ripples into chip sector

The S&P 500 kicked off Friday’s trading session near the flatline.

The broad market index inched down 0.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite lagged, falling around 0.7%.

— Hakyung Kim

Italian payment technology company Nexi was the biggest winner on the Stoxx600 index on Friday after the company posted a 7% jump in annual core profit.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) increased by 7.1% to 1.86 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in 2024 — up from 1.73 billion euros in 2023. Shares were around 9% higher at 2 p.m. London time.

The company said it plans to return 600 million euros to shareholders in 2025, with 300 million euros in dividend distributions, and an additional 300 million euro share buyback program.

For its 2025 outlook, Nexi is forecasting low to mid-single-digit revenue growth year-on-year, and at least 50 basis-point expansion of its Ebitda margin.

“2024 has been a key year in the journey of Nexi as we have also started to return capital to our Shareholders and achieved an Investment Grade status at the same time, while we continued to reduce our debt leverage,” Paolo Bertoluzzo, CEO of Nexi Group said.

“Looking into 2025, we expect to continue to grow and expand our margins, further increasing our cash generation, while continuing to invest with strong conviction in the growth potential of digital payments, a very key strategic sector for the future of Europe.”

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

German annual inflation came in at an unchanged but higher-than-expected 2.8% in February, provisional data from statistics agency Destatis showed Friday.

The print is harmonized across the euro area for comparability. 

The February print compares to a 2.7% estimate from economists surveyed by Reuters. The January harmonized annual inflation reading had come in at 2.8%, unchanged from December.

German inflation had fallen below the 2% European Central Bank target in September last year, but re-accelerated after and has remained above the crucial mark for five months in a row now.

Read the full story here.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Max Kettner, HSBC’s chief multi-asset strategist, discusses the latest market sell-off after Nvidia shares plummeted following quarterly earnings.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

The chief executive of BASF says the German chemical company is approaching 2025 with “quite some optimism” after a challenging year.

“2024 was a difficult year for the chemicals industry but BASF has performed very well in this environment, and we are looking also with confidence into 2025,” BASF CEO Markus Kamieth told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Friday.

“However, we are not expecting a lot of tailwinds from most of our regional markets,” he added.

Asked about the potential impact of U.S. tariffs, BASF’s Kamieth said the firm had a “vey favorable” position compared to other chemical companies, given its “significant footprint” in the U.S.

“But the insecurity around trade policies and tariffs is certainly not helping overall industrial growth and overall GDP growth. So, we hope that overall, this clarity that is needed will be coming quickly to us, so we can actually move forward and adapt our tactics and strategies,” Kamieth said.

Shares of BASF traded 1.5% higher on Friday morning.

— Sam Meredith

Gold can still outperform other commodities because of a challenging environment amidst tariff and inflation pressures, Ben Emons, founder of FedWatch Advisors, told CNBC’s Juliana Tatelbaum on “Street Signs Europe” on Friday.

Emons pointed out that gold has had “an incredible run” since the U.S. Presidential elections in November.

“I do think in the bigger scheme of things, it is actually what I call the ‘gold smile’, like the ‘dollar smile.’ It appreciates under uncertainty, but it also appreciates because of anticipation of inflation or higher growth,” Emons said.

“Gold will continue to be in a better position to outperform say relative to other commodities because it is this type of environment and a risk of inflation…I think gold will do really well in that environment.”

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

European markets have broadly outperformed their American counterparts in February, the first full trading month since Donald Trump took office once again in the United States.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 is up 2.93% so far this month, according to LSEG data, while the S&P 500 index is down 2.96%. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is down 5.52%, LSEG’s data shows, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 2.93% over the course of February.

When it comes to individual country indexes in Europe, London’s FTSE 100 has gained around 1.2% in February, while Germany’s Dax is up 3.4% month-to-date. The French CAC 40 has risen 1.7%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB is up 5.9% since the beginning of February.

As Wall Street prepared to open for the final trading session of the month on Friday, stock futures edged higher, while shares in Europe slumped.

— Chloe Taylor

Former U.K. Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that it was positive the U.S. and U.K. were discussing trade once again.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House Thursday, where he discussed a potential trade deal as well as the war in Ukraine with President Donald Trump.

Mordaunt said she was “pleased it was a good visit.”

“What I think is also good is that we’re back to talking about trade,” she added Friday.

During a press conference after the meeting, Trump signalled that a trade deal between the two countries could potentially be brokered that could see the U.K. escape the tariffs he’s repeatedly threatened to impose on goods imported to the U.S.

Mordaunt noted that despite talks about a federal-level trade deal previously stalling, the U.K. had continued talks and formed agreements with individual U.S. states.

“So we have a really good understanding about what businesses need on a state-by-state basis. We’re in a good position to think about what sort of economic agreements would really help both of our businesses open up more of our markets to each other,” she said.

Mordaunt, from the Conservative Party which currently makes up the main opposition to Starmer’s government, also addressed the outlook for the war in Ukraine and European defence spending, which were also key topics at the meeting between Trump and Starmer.

“I think we’re getting there,” she said when asked if she believed a peace deal for Ukraine was close.

“The key thing is: do we have enough to deter Russia’s future expansionist aggression?” Mordaunt added, saying that Europe still had “a fair way to go to step up and demonstrate that.”

She also noted that she believed the U.K.’s increase in defence spending does not go far enough. The country announced earlier this week that it would increase defence spending to 2.5% of the national gross domestic product from April 2027.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European mining stocks led losses on Friday morning, after the Chinese government said it would “take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests” should the U.S. impose further import tariffs on its goods.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would slap additional 10% duties on Chinese imports from March 4.

The Stoxx Basic Resources index was 1.3% lower during early trade, paring earlier losses, with Syensqo shedding 3%, Voestalpine down 2.7% and Norsk Hydro losing 2.6%.

— Chloe Taylor

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled the U.K. could broker a “real trade deal” and escape tariffs amid ongoing negotiations sweetened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Thursday visit to the White House.

When asked during a joint press briefing whether Starmer had convinced Trump to avoid additional levies on Britain, Trump said, “He tried! He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there. But, he tried … I think there is a very good chance that in the case of these two great friendly countries, I think we could end up with a real trade deal that … where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”

Read the full story here.

— Ruxandra Iordache

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Friday that it “firmly opposes” U.S. President Donald Trump‘s latest threat to ramp up tariffs on Chinese goods and vowed retaliation if necessary.

“If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” a Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement, translated by CNBC.

“We urge the U.S. side to not repeat its own mistakes, and to return as soon as possible to the right track of properly resolving conflicts through dialogue on equal footing,” it said.

Read the full story here.

— Anniek Bao and Evelyn Cheng

The Stoxx Technology index was down 1.2% at 8:35 a.m. London time, after shares of chipmaking behemoth Nvidia sold off on Wall Street on Thursday to wipe $273 billion off of the company’s value.

In early European trade on Friday, Dutch semiconductor manufacturer BE Semiconductor was down 9%, while chipmakers Infineon and ASML were down 3% and 6.6%, respectively.  

— Chloe Taylor

French inflation cooled to 0.8% in February, according to preliminary figures from the country’s statistics agency Insee.

The Consumer Price Index is expected to have risen by 0.8% year-on-year, after an increase of 1.7% in January. Insee said that if the preliminary figures are confirmed next month, it will mark the first time in four years that France’s annual inflation rate has fallen below 1%.

— Chloe Taylor

German retail sales rose 0.2% in real terms between December and January, preliminary figures showed on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected January retail sales to remain unchanged from the previous month.

— Chloe Taylor

Financial services giant Allianz reported a record annual operating profit of 16 billion euros ($16.6 billion) on Friday when it published its full-year earnings for 2024.

The firm said it marked a year-on-year rise of 8.7%, with the growth “supported by all business segments.”

— Chloe Taylor

European stocks are expected to open in negative territory on Friday, as investors weigh U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose tariffs on the European Union.

London’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 0.6% lower at around 8,700 points, according to IG, while the German DAX is slated to shed 1.1% at the open and the French CAC 40 is expected to open 0.8% lower.

— Chloe Taylor