LONDON — European markets finished Friday’s session in negative territory as investors digested events at Davos, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s excoriating speech about the continent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session 0.2% lower, with major bourses in mixed territory.
European stocks had finished higher on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said a “framework” agreement had been reached over Greenland, and called off imposing escalating tariffs on a group of European countries.
It came after intense speculation of tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. business leaders welcomed Europe’s tougher stance with Trump amid news of the framework. JP Morgan EMEA co-CEO Conor Hillery said it was “very good for business.”
Zelenskyy, however criticized European leaders’ response to geopolitical threats in his speech at the WEF in Davos. He accused Europe of being “lost” while trying to convince Trump to “change” and support it, rather than uniting to defend itself.
Zelenskyy also said there would be trilateral meetings in the United Arab Emirates on Friday and Saturday between Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. over ending the war in his country.
Investors are now taking note of who is on the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump, which was originally designed to oversee the demilitarization and rebuilding of Gaza. Trump, however, said he sees the board taking on a role that could rival the United Nations, causing alarm among several U.S. allies. Trump rescinded Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation to join overnight.
Trump also said that the U.S. has an “armada” headed in Iran’s direction amid a brutal government crackdown on protesters in the oil-producing state.
“We have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case …I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One.
March futures for the benchmark Brent crude moved 2.9% higher Friday. European oil and gas-related stocks finished 1.3% higher.
Meanwhile, shares in defense name Czechoslovak Group (CSG) skyrocketed on its public debut in Amsterdam, finishing the day 31.4% higher.
Ericsson said in filings that it has planned a 15 billion Swedish krona ($1.7 billion) buyback scheme.
The Swedish telecoms giant reported 12.26 billion krona in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, excluding restructuring costs, for the final quarter of 2025. It comes in higher than a forecast of 10.09 billion krona, according to an Infront poll cited by Reuters.
Stockholm-listed shares in the company popped at the open, gaining almost 11% in its highest price since November. It pared some gains, before closing the day up 10.5%.
Börje Ekholm, president and CEO, said in a statement that he expected the radio access network to be flat in 2026.
“Mission critical and enterprise markets, where we are well positioned, are expected to grow. In this environment, we plan to increase investments in defense during 2026 while continuing to optimize our cost base to support margins and cash flow generation,” he added.
Ubisoft shares plunged as much as 34% on Thursday after announcing a major restructuring and cancelling six games. The Assassin’s Creed maker said it expected to make an operating loss of around 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) in the financial year ending 2026, following a 650 million euro write-down caused by the restructuring, and is considering selling some assets. Ubisoft’s Paris-listed shares closed 2.6% higher Friday.
Elsewhere, German business activity grew across services and manufacturing in January, according to data published by S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB).
The HCOB composite purchasing manager’s index (PMI) came in at 52.5 in January, rising from December’s 51.3 and beating the 51.6 forecast by Reuters, to reach a three-month high. Growth was led by services PMI at 53.3, outweighing estimates of 52.5, as manufacturing came in at 48.7, also beating predictions.
Market watchers will also be paying attention to a looming Supreme Court decision over Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, putting the central bank’s independence back into focus. Following arguments this week, Cook appears to be safe.
Asia-Pacific markets rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains from the previous session as geopolitical concerns eased and investors assessed the Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates steady. U.S. equities were mixed, with the S&P 500 last seen up 0.2%, with the Nasdaq advancing 0.6%, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.5% lower.
— CNBC’s Lucy Handley contributed to this report.
