European stock markets closed a tumultuous week on a high note during Friday's trading session. The Stoxx Europe increased by 1.31%, the Swiss Market Index surged by 1.63%, France's CAC rose by 1.09%, and the FTSE in London gained by 1.07%. Germany's DAX also concluded the day 1.10% higher. In the United Kingdom, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dipped to 49.9 in October from 51.5 in September, marking its first foray into contraction territory since April.
The decline has been attributed largely to dwindling consumer confidence and an overall economic slowdown. In housing news, UK house prices decreased to 265,738 British pounds ($344,418) in October, compared to 266,094 British pounds in September, as reported by the latest Nationwide House Price Index. Turning to Switzerland, the consumer price index fell by 0.1% in October compared to the previous month, although it remains up by 0.6% from a year earlier, per data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. In corporate updates, shares of UK-based Reckitt Benckiser experienced a remarkable rise of more than 7% during Friday's trading, following a jury ruling that its US-based subsidiary, Mead Johnson, was not liable in a lawsuit concerning baby formulas for premature infants, as reported by various media outlets. Novo Nordisk announced that the initial phase of an ongoing phase 3 trial concerning individuals with liver fibrosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis successfully met its primary endpoints, contributing to a 1% increase in the company’s shares in Copenhagen. In other financial developments, Deutsche Bank is working alongside three other financial institutions to recover their portion of a 2.3 billion euros ($2.48 billion) fee imposed by German regulators.
This was established as a recovery fund stemming from the 2008 financial crisis. As a result, Deutsche Bank shares saw a 1.5% increase in Frankfurt..