Key Points:
- European stock markets closed mostly lower on Thursday.
- Mercedes Benz reported a massive 57% drop in yearly earnings.
- UK economic growth slowed to just 0.1% in December.
- Oil prices fell nearly 3% despite ongoing tensions with Iran.
European stock markets finished mostly lower on Thursday. Investors spent the day analyzing a flood of corporate earnings reports and new economic data from the United Kingdom. Germany’s DAX index fell slightly, while the UK’s FTSE 100 saw a sharper decline of 0.7%.
The biggest story of the day came from the auto sector. Mercedes Benz announced a massive 57% drop in its 2025 earnings. The luxury carmaker is struggling with high production costs and a very difficult market in China. To make matters worse, the company warned that profit margins could shrink even more this year as global tariffs take a toll.
However, not all the stocks were bad. Luxury fashion brand Hermes reported solid growth, with revenue up nearly 10%. Sales in the United States were particularly strong, jumping more than 12%. German engineering giant Siemens also gave investors hope by raising its full-year outlook after seeing higher orders across its industrial businesses.
In the consumer goods sector, Unilever beat sales expectations thanks to high demand for products like Dove soap and Vaseline. However, the company warned that slowing markets might hurt growth later this year. Meanwhile, the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, reported strong earnings despite a soft consumer environment.
On the economic front, the United Kingdom is barely growing. New data showed the British economy grew by just 0.1% in December. This slow pace keeps pressure on the Bank of England to continue easing monetary policy to help kickstart growth.
Across the Atlantic, the United States released a strong jobs report. Employers added 130,000 jobs in January, which was much higher than expected. This suggests the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates steady until the second half of the year.
Finally, oil prices dropped on Thursday. Brent crude fell nearly 3% to around $67 a barrel. Traders sold off oil even though tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high, with no clear deal reached on nuclear talks yet.
