European Shares Little Changed As Investors Await Lagarde Remarks

European stocks were little changed on Friday as investors reacted to hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official and a slew of mixed regional data.

The euro remained slightly above the 1.08 level in a narrow range after data showed the German economy contracted as estimated in Q4 on weaker investment.

Gross domestic product slid 0.3 percent sequentially after stagnating in the third quarter, according to revised data from Destatis.

The headline German IFO business climate index improved to 85.5 in February from the January print of 85.2.

Elsewhere, survey data from GfK showed that U.K. consumer confidence dropped in February on weak economic conditions.

The consumer sentiment index fell to -21 in February from -19 in January. The score was seen at -18.

The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally higher at 495.48 after climbing 0.8 percent on Thursday to surpass its previous record close on Jan. 5, 2022.

The German DAX traded with a negative bias, while France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both were marginally higher ahead of remarks from European Central Bank policymakers, including President Christine Lagarde.

Swiss engineering company ABB fell about 2 percent after it named Morten Wierod as its new CEO.

Standard Chartered jumped 6.5 percent in London. The lender announced a $1 billion share buyback after posting quarterly earnings that beat estimates.

Aerospace and defense group Chemring dropped 1.2 percent after keeping expectations for fiscal 2024 performance unchanged.

German insurer Allianz fell more than 3 percent after its fourth quarter profit came in slightly below expectations.

Airline Lufthansa tumbled 4.2 percent after news on board reshuffle.

Deutsche Telekom fell over 2 percent as it reported a loss of 1.035 billion euros or 0.21 euros per share for the fourth quarter.

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