European stocks opened mixed on Friday (December 19th), as investors digested a number of interest rate decisions and awaited crucial budget talks in France.
Regional investors were shaken by a day full of central bank decisions, with Thursday bringing monetary policy updates from the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Norges Bank, and the Riksbank. All but the Bank of England, which cut interest rates by 25 basis points, kept their key rates unchanged.
The ECB raised its economic growth outlook for the eurozone, saying it now expects growth of up to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.
On Friday, European traders will also be watching news from France, where lawmakers will hold crucial budget talks. A joint committee of politicians will discuss the terms of the 2026 spending plan on Friday, but differences in political ideology could make reaching a consensus difficult. Failure to reach a breakthrough will force Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to use emergency measures to allow spending and borrowing to continue into the new year until a budget can be passed.
Last month, Lecornu said that the possibility of no budget before the new year was a "danger looming over France," according to local media.
The country has faced political turmoil this year, with Lecornu—France's fifth prime minister in five years—resigning after 27 days in office, only to be reappointed the following week.
Elsewhere, European Union officials said Friday they had agreed on a 90 billion euro ($105.5 billion) aid package for Ukraine, opting not to use frozen Russian assets to fund loans to Kyiv.
Economic data from Europe today includes the latest German consumer confidence data from GfK, UK retail sales figures, and Italian business confidence data.
Across the Atlantic, global investors will be watching existing home sales figures as well as the latest Michigan consumer sentiment data for December. Stock futures on Wall Street were mixed on Friday morning, after cooling inflation figures helped U.S. stocks end a four-day losing streak on Thursday. (alg)
Source: CNBC.com
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