On January 2, 2026 in London, England, people visit the observation deck in Greenwich Park on a sunny but cold day with a view of Canary Wharf financial district in the distance.
Henry Nichols AFP | Getty Images
European stock markets closed higher on Friday afternoon as a week full of corporate earnings reports came to a close.
pan-european Stocks 600 The stock had tentatively risen 0.9% by the close of trading, reversing morning losses.
Milan listed stocks Stellantis Shares plunged 24% after the automaker announced a sweeping restructuring that will cost $26 billion. French auto stocks also fell on Friday morning. Valeo and Phorbia They decreased by approximately 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively. renault 3% slide.
This week’s stock prices were affected by earnings reports from some of Europe’s biggest companies, including pharmaceutical giants. novo nordiskoil major shell and various banking industry heavyweights.
Danish offshore wind power developer Orsted reported a 9.8% year-on-year increase in sales in its fourth quarter results, last up more than 3%. EBITDA was SEK 25.1 billion ($3.9 billion), within the guidance range of SEK 24 billion to SEK 27 billion, and net income was SEK 3.2 billion.
french financier société generale The stock fell by about 2% after the fourth quarter results were announced.
In corporate news, major mining companies rio tinto and glencore Both companies fell on Thursday after confirming they had abandoned talks over a mega-merger that could create the world’s largest mining company. Rio Tinto rose 0.25% in afternoon trade, paring early losses, while Glencore rose 1.5%, reversing morning losses.
“The parties were unable to reach agreement on the terms of the merger,” Glencore said in a statement.
“A key condition of the potential offer was that Rio Tinto retain both its chairman and chief executive officer roles and provide provisional ownership of the combined company, which in our view materially underestimated Glencore’s underlying relative value contribution to the combined group, even before taking into account the appropriate acquisition control premium.”
On Thursday, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold. All eyes were also on the UK, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer under pressure amid a row over the appointment of former ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson. Mandelson’s relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has been called into question recently with the release of more so-called Epstein files.
Yields on British bonds (known as gilts) were little changed on Friday morning, and the pound sterling rose 0.6% against the dollar.
