BRUSSELS (CNBC) - The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended down 0.5%, with most sectors in negative territory and major bourses pointing in opposite directions.
It comes after inflation in the euro zone hit a new record high in December, raising more questions about the European Central Bank’s policy.
Preliminary data showed Friday that headline inflation came in at 5% for the month, compared to the same month last year. The figure represents the highest ever on record and follows November’s all-time high of 4.9%.
Travel and leisure was the worst-performing sector, down by 1.6%. Basic resources, on the other hand, was the top performer, up almost 1.9%.
Looking at individual stocks, ST Micro was among the best performing, up by 3.7% after reporting higher-than-expected sales in the fourth quarter.
Deutsche Bank was also in the spotlight on Friday after positive statements that the German bank is on track to hit key profit targets, Reuters reported. Shares of the firm rose 1.8%.
In other stock news, Air France - KLM will need to raise fresh capital in 2022 of between 1 and 2 billion euros ($1.13 billion and $2.26 billion), Les Echos reported.
Investors are also digesting new jobs data out of the U.S. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 199,000 in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The data disappointed after economists had predicted that the U.S. economy would have added 422,000 jobs in December, according to data compiled by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate was expected to come in at 4.1%.
As a result, U.S. stock index futures turned lower on the news.