On Thursday, European stock markets concluded trading predominantly lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 experiencing a decline of 0.51%. Germany's DAX index faced a significant drop of 1.19%, in contrast to London's FTSE 100, which posted a modest gain of 0.28%. France's CAC 40 and Switzerland's Market Index suffered losses, falling by 0.51% and 0.65% respectively. In economic data for February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator in the EU showed a rise of 1.1 points, reaching 97.1, with a similar increase of 1 point in the euro area to 96.3, according to the European Commission.
Nevertheless, the Employment Expectations Indicator saw a decline, dropping 1.2 points to 98.1 in the EU and 1.5 points to 97.0 in the Euro area. Both indicators remain below their long-term average of 100, indicating ongoing challenges in the economic landscape. Spain's annual inflation rate rose to 3.0% in February, a slight increase from January’s 2.9%, primarily driven by surging electricity prices, as reflected in flash estimates from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. Italy saw improvements in consumer confidence with the confidence index increasing to 98.8 in February from the previous month’s 98.2, reported by the Italian National Institute of Statistics.
The personal climate index also saw a positive shift, rising to 98.3 from 97.1. However, the economic climate index experienced a slight downturn, dropping to 100.2 from 101.3. In corporate news, Rolls-Royce shares experienced a notable surge, climbing 16% in London following the aerospace company's announcement of higher earnings and revenue for the full year 2024.
This positive performance was complemented by the introduction of a share buyback program valued at 1 billion British pounds ($1.27 billion). Conversely, shares of WPP, a British communications giant, fell sharply by 16% in London following the release of disappointing preliminary headline earnings for 2024, reported at 0.883 British pounds ($1.12) per diluted share, down from 0.938 pounds a year ago.
Analysts anticipated a figure of 0.87 pounds, with revenue expectations also showing a decrease to 11.36 billion pounds from the previous year’s 11.86 billion pounds. Additionally, Exor, a significant shareholder in Ferrari, announced the sale of 7 million shares in the iconic Italian car manufacturer, amounting to approximately 4% of its total outstanding shares, to institutional investors for a total of 3 billion euros ($3.14 billion).
This news negatively impacted Ferrari’s shares, which fell by 8% in Milan. In tech news, German internet browser company Opera reported an adjusted earnings figure of $0.28 per diluted share for Q4, up from $0.24 a year earlier. Analysts had anticipated earnings of $0.26. The company’s revenue for the quarter ending December 31 was reported at $145.8 million, compared to $113 million in the same quarter the previous year.
Expectations were set for $137.9 million. Following these announcements, shares of Opera rose nearly 7% in Frankfurt..