[BENGALURU] European shares ended lower on Friday (Jul 4) as losses in banks and mining-related stocks weighed, with focus now shifting to the Jul 9 deadline for trading partners to reach a deal with the United States.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.5 per cent lower, clocking a marginal weekly fall.
Other regional indexes also declined, with Germany’s DAX down 0.6 per cent and France’s CAC 40 losing 0.8 per cent. Spain’s benchmark lagged with a 1.5 per cent fall.
Basic resources lagged the major Stoxx sub-sectors, down 1.4 per cent as prices of base metals including copper, came under pressure.
Euro zone banks slid 1,3 per cent, with Spain’s BBVA topping declines at a 2.6 per cent fall.
Helping limit losses, healthcare advanced 1.1 per cent. Drugmakers Novartis, Roche and Novo Nordisk – some of the biggest weights on the Stoxx 600 – all clocked gains.
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Shares of French spirits makers Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and LVMH – the owner of Hennessy – all finished well off their session lows after China spared major cognac producers from new duties on EU brandy, provided they sell at a minimum price.
In the latest on tariffs, US President Donald Trump said that Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States.
With Trump’s 90-day pause on higher US tariffs ending next week, investors have taken a cautious stance as several large trading partners, including the European Union, are yet to secure trade deals.
The EU is pushing for an “agreement in principle” with the US ahead of the deadline, seeking immediate tariff relief in key sectors as part of any trade deal.
“Talks are also ongoing on a range of non-tariff issues … The result is likely to be a two-page ‘agreement in principle’ that will kick many cans down the road while keeping the existing tariffs in place,” J.P.Morgan analysts said in a note.
Also on the radar this week was Trump’s tax-cut legislation, which cleared its final hurdle in the US Congress on Thursday, and is expected to be signed into law later in the day.
Despite a roaring start to the year, European shares fell behind the US S&P 500 on year-to-date basis on Friday, driven dominantly by tech shares.
The Stoxx 600 was last up 6.6 per cent for 2025, compared with the 6.7 per cent advance for the S&P 500.
Among individual stocks, Germany’s Rheinmetall advanced 3.3 per cent after JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank raised their price targets on the defence contractor. REUTERS
