Title: European Stocks Mixed; Cautious Trading With Biden in Europe

Mar 25, 2022 05:13AM ET

By: AnalysisWatch

European stock markets traded mixed on Friday, ending the week on a cautious note as the war in Ukraine continues and energy prices remain high.

At 01:10 AM ET, Germany's DAX was trading 0.1% higher, France's CAC 40 was unchanged, and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.2%.

The war in Ukraine, sparked by the Russian invasion on 24 February, has already claimed thousands of lives and displaced some 3.6 million people, according to the UN.

Western leaders condemned Moscow's invasion as barbaric after talks in Brussels on Thursday, with Britain and the US considering further sanctions against Russia.

U.S. President Joe Biden called for Russia's expulsion from the G-20 group of major economies and on Friday traveled to a city near the Polish-Ukrainian border in a sign of Western unity.

In corporate news, Trelleborg shares rose more than 20% after it was announced that the Swedish company will sell its tire division to Yokohama Rubber for $2.3 billion.

Anglo American shares rose 0.2% after the mining giant announced the sale of its remaining stake in Thungela Resources, completing its exit from the South African coal business.

Volkswagen shares fell 0.7% after the German car giant announced that the launch of its ID.5 electric car will be delayed by a month to the first week of May due to a disruption in the supply of wiring harnesses from Ukraine.

Elsewhere, UK retail sales surprisingly fell 0.3% month-on-month in February and posted a 7.0% year-on-year increase as household budgets were weighed down by rising fuel prices.