Portugal's main stock index, the PSI, gained 0.27% on Friday, driven by positive performance in the technology, consumer services, and consumer goods sectors. Teixeira Duarte and Jeronimo Martins were among the top performers.
The Netherlands' benchmark AEX index closed down 0.94% on Friday, pressured by significant losses in the technology and consumer goods sectors. Outperforming energy stocks provided a limited counterbalance amid rising oil prices.
Italy's benchmark stock index ended Friday's session down 0.84%, pulled lower by significant losses in the technology, industrial, and financial sectors.
Spain's benchmark stock index, the IBEX 35, ended Friday's session lower, weighed down by losses in the financial services and consumer goods sectors. The decline occurred despite a rally in energy commodities.
Hospitality and retail REITs are posting strong double-digit gains on expectations of Fed rate cuts and resilient consumer spending, while industrial and mortgage REITs face headwinds from softer demand and interest rate sensitivity.
UBS analysts have identified Freeport-McMoRan as their top pick among copper producers, citing the recovery at its Grasberg mine as a key catalyst ahead of the sector's second-quarter earnings reports.
Oppenheimer raised its rating on Ecolab to Outperform and set a $320 price target, citing the company's increasing exposure to high-growth AI infrastructure markets like data centers and semiconductor manufacturing.
Meta Platforms is reportedly negotiating a deal worth up to $10 billion to lease its computing infrastructure to AI developer Anthropic over two years. The move would mark a major revenue diversification effort for Meta, pitting it against specialized cloud providers.
Shares of Meta Platforms recovered from a steep intra-day decline following a New York Times report that the company is in early talks with AI startup Anthropic for a potential $10 billion deal to lease its data center capacity.
