Major European markets close higher, except for London and Frankfurt

FRANKFURT, Germany— Major European markets closed with gains on Friday, except for Frankfurt and London , which posted slight losses, while the euro rose to $1.1656.

The euro rose slightly on Friday after pressure on the dollar , which had already grown last week on the back of poor US jobs data , increased after US President Donald Trump yesterday nominated economist Stephen Miran as a new member of the Fed's Board of Governors .

The euro was trading at $1.1656 around 3:00 p.m. GMT, up from $1.1622 in the final hours of trading the previous day.

The European Central Bank (ECB) set the euro's benchmark exchange rate at $1.1648 , slightly up from $1.1643 on Thursday.

The Spanish stock market rose 0.91% this Friday, its fifth consecutive day of gains, closing above 14,800 points, a new high since 2008, due to progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine despite the tariffs.

The main index of the national market, the IBEX 35, has added 134 points, or 0.91%, and has closed trading at 14,824 points , its best level since January 3, 2008. With this, it gains 4.94% this week and increases its performance so far this year to 27.86%.

The index opened the day in positive territory and maintained this trend throughout the session, buoyed by progress toward a ceasefire in Ukraine and by the positive sentiment on Wall Street, despite the fact that reciprocal US tariffs went into effect yesterday.

Among the major stocks, BBVA gained 2.87%, the second largest gainer on the table; Banco Santander gained 2.32%; Inditex 0.38%; Telefónica 0.5%; and Repsol 0.41%. Iberdrola stood out, falling 0.38%.

The Milan Stock Exchange closed higher, with its FTSE MIB index rising 0.56% to 41,623.86 points, driven by expectations of a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, despite the imposition of tariffs.

Meanwhile, the FTSE Italia All-Share general index rose 0.53% to 44,189.34 points.

During the last session of the week, some 498 million shares were traded, valued at approximately €3.008 billion.

Milan closes its fifth consecutive session on the rise, despite trade uncertainty and the entry into force of the 15% US tariffs on European Union products.

The rise was primarily driven by a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, following the announcement of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

The best-performing companies in Milan were the car manufacturer Stellantis, which grew by 2.41%, Bpm Bank (2.39%), Unicredit (2.04%), Stmicroelectronics (1.90%) and the cement company Buzzi (1.78%).

On the other hand, the company with the worst results was the insurance company Unipol, with a drop of 3.83%, followed by the multinational defense sector company Leonardo (-2.55%), the collection network Nexi (-1.46%), the fashion firm Brunello Cucinelli (-1.25%) and the energy company Hera (-1.18%).

Strong banking and automotive stocks boosted the CAC-40 index on the Paris Stock Exchange, which ended the week up 0.44%.

In total, four of the five sessions of the week ended with gains, for a total increase of 2.58% that placed the benchmark indicator at 7,743.00 points.

Investors exchanged shares worth just over 2.7 billion euros.

Crédit Agricole led the pack with a 3.20% gain, ahead of steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which improved by 3.15%, and BNP Paribas, which gained 2.52%.

Automotive stocks also had a good day, with Stellantis up 2.30% and Renault up 2.14%.

At the other end of the spectrum was certification company Bureau Veritas, which fell 1.04%, followed by energy company Engie, which fell 0.98%.

The London Stock Exchange fell slightly by 0.06%, with mining and raw material extraction companies the main beneficiaries in the final session.

London's main index, the FTSE-100, fell 5.04 points to 9,095.73, while the secondary index, the FTSE-250, gained a slight 0.09%, or 20.45 points, to 21,958.55.

On the earnings front, the leading gainers were commodity management and distribution company Glencore, which posted a 2.78% rise, followed by mining company Antofagasta, which gained 2.53%, and Coca-Cola beverage producer Europacific Partners, which added 2.33%.

The list of losers, meanwhile, was led by marketing and communications company WPP, which fell 6.20%, followed by betting and gaming firm Entain, which lost 5.82%, and hotel chain Intercontinental Hotels Group, which lost 3.90% of its share value.

After the gains of recent days, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's main index, the DAX 40, experienced a day without significant stimulus this Friday, as investors preferred to remain cautious in the face of the geopolitical events that may occur in the coming days.

The Frankfurt index fell 0.12% at the close, standing at 24,162.86 points, slightly below the previous day's 24,190 points.

The MDAX, a benchmark index for small and medium-sized companies, gained 0.52% to 31,493.41 points, and the TecDAX technology index gained 0.26% to 3,775.37 points.

Commerzbank gained 3.45% to 34.48 euros on Friday.

The medical company Fresenius and the pharmaceutical company Merck rose 3.45 and 3.35 percent respectively, to 43.71 and 108.10 euros.

On the other hand, the world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re, which published its half-year results this Friday and had to adjust its forecasts for this year, fell 7.21% to €564.00.

Reinsurance company Hannover Re fell 3.97% to €266.00, and IT company SAP fell 1.83% to €250.10.

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