At 09:10 in Lisbon, the EuroStoxx 600 rose by 0.03% to 571.46 points.
The stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt gained 0.43% and 0.22%, respectively, while Madrid and Milan saw increases of 0.76% and 0.40%. London was the exception, declining by 0.14%.
The Lisbon stock exchange reversed its opening trend, with the main index PSI up 0.03% to 8,232.61 points, after reaching a new high since February 2011 of 8,229.95 points on Thursday.
As the market opened, with the euro affected by political uncertainty in France and the US and trading since Thursday at around 1.15 dollars—levels not seen in over two months—investors awaited developments in France. French President Emmanuel Macron had set a deadline for today to designate a prime minister, tasked with achieving a consensus on a 2026 budget to provide stability and meet European commitments.
Meanwhile, the US Senate failed again in efforts to end the partial shutdown of the federal government, leaving dozens of agencies unfunded and impacting hundreds of thousands of public employees nationwide.
Investors are also anticipating a 24-hour window for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza to take effect after its approval by the Israeli government. The agreement includes the release of all Israeli hostages, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the partial withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza.
In the macroeconomic agenda, the University of Michigan is set to release today the preliminary October reading of its consumer sentiment index, expected to slightly improve from September’s reading yet remain historically low.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed down 1.02%, while Shanghai’s benchmark index dropped 0.96%, Shenzhen slid 2.93%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng decreased by 1.68% shortly before the session’s end.
Wall Street futures advanced after ending in decline on Thursday but did not exceed 0.10% across the three indices.
The Dow Jones ended down 0.52% at 46,358.42 points on Thursday, from 46,758.28 points on October 3, marking a new high since its inception in 1896.
The Nasdaq, bustling with high-tech stocks, closed down 0.08% at 23,024.63 points, compared to an all-time high of 23,043.38 on October 8.
In the debt market, Germany’s 10-year bond yields fell to 2.684% from 2.702%, along with France’s, descending to 3.497% from 3.524% on Thursday and the high of 3.600% on September 25.
Gold prices, traditionally a safe haven during uncertainty, fell with an ounce trading at 3,960.34 dollars, after reaching a record high of 4,056.63 on October 8.
Brent crude, Europe’s oil benchmark for December delivery, declined to 64.75 dollars from 65.22 dollars on Thursday.
In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin rose by 0.10% to 121,305 dollars, after reaching a new high on October 6 when it closed at 126,251 dollars.
The euro advanced to 1.1575 dollars on the Frankfurt forex market, up from 1.1558 dollars on Thursday and the new four-year high of 1.1865 dollars seen on September 16.
