LONDON — European stocks edged below the flatline on Friday as investors digest the end of a choppy month.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 initially saw a positive start to the session but quickly moved lower, with major bourses and sectors mixed at 8:50 a.m. in London (3:50 a.m. ET).
November has been a volatile month for equities with fears of stretched AI valuations resurfacing, causing a rollercoaster of relief rallies and sell-offs adding to insights from the latest earnings season and uncertainty over monetary policy.
However, global markets were buoyed this week by rising expectations of an interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve when it next meets on Dec. 9-10.
Delivery Hero also sat at the higher end of the index through the previous trading session. The German food delivery company gained 7.3% on Friday following a shareholder call for a strategic review, according to Bloomberg reporting. Delivery Hero declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.
British airline EasyJet advanced 2.2% on Friday as investors continued to react to its positive earnings on Wednesday, in which the firm raised profit forecasts for package holidays.
Shares in Germany’s Puma soared more than 18% on Thursday following a media report that Chinese sports multinational Anta Sports is preparing an acquisition bid. However, the stock dipped 0.7% in early dealmaking on Friday.
Investors will be watching defense stock moves on Friday as U.S. officials continue to attempt to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on the plan on Thursday and said his country is ready for “serious talks.”
The Stoxx Aerospace and Defense Index was last seen edging below the flatline.
An overall positive month for the Stoxx 600
The benchmark notched upwards for the fifth consecutive month in November, with healthcare-related stocks leading the index. Roche and Bayer performed well after each posting strong trial data, while France’s Abivax is up well over 1000% year-to-date amid promising data around its ulcerative colitis drug.
Tech names experienced swings as fears around an AI-fueled bubble and stretched valuations in the U.S. spilled over to Europe. ASMI, which supplies equipment to chipmakers, is down nearly 15% on the month, while Dutch chip equipment maker ASML is around 2% lower over the same time period.
ASMI was last seen 0.4% higher, while ASML was flat.
Defense stocks have also seen losses, with Germany’s Hensoldt down by nearly 25% this month amid delayed growth guidance at its capital markets day.
In terms of data, a handful of European member states are expected to release preliminary inflation data on Friday.
U.K. car production data from The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders came early in the day, revealing a fall of 23.8% year-on-year in October 2025, following a cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover that halted production for over two weeks.
Investors will be watching Stateside commodities on Friday after a cooling issue at CME Group’s CyrusOne data centers halted trading in futures markets.
“Support is working to resolve the issue in the near term and will advise clients of Pre-Open details as soon as they are available,” CME Group said in a statement on its website.
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday, while U.S. stock futures were little changed Thursday night during a holiday-shortened week. The Nasdaq Composite is on track to end a seven-month winning streak.
— CNBC’s Jordan Butt contributed to this report.