KEY POINTS

  • Fed Chairman Jerome Powell called the economic recovery “uneven,” signaling that monetary policy will remain loose until a more robust recovery is attained.
  • German industrial output in February fell 1.6% from the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office revealed Friday, well below a consensus forecast of a 1.5% rise.

European markets were mixed on Friday, searching for direction after touching record highs in the previous session.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 hovered fractionally above the flatline by mid-afternoon, with telecoms sliding 0.8% while health care stocks climbed 0.6%.

Shares in Asia-Pacific mostly slipped overnight, failing to pick up momentum from the U.S. after the S&P 500 notched another record closing high, fueled in part by dovish comments from the Federal Reserve.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell called the economic recovery “uneven,” signaling that monetary policy will remain loose until a more robust recovery is attained, which sent U.S. Treasury yields lower. U.S. stock futures point to a tepid open on Wall Street Friday.

In corporate news, Spanish infrastructure group ACS has expressed interest in taking a surprise stake in Atlantia’s motorway unit, the Italian conglomerate announced Thursday.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s struggles with its Covid-19 vaccine rollout have continued to grow in recent days. Australia, the Philippines and the African Union have become the latest to limit or abandon purchases of the shot over fears about its possible link to blood clots, despite global shortages.

On the data front, German industrial output in February fell 1.6% from the previous month, the Federal Statistics Office revealed Friday, which was well below a consensus forecast of a 1.5% rise.

Tui shares slid 7% by mid-afternoon in London after an IT glitch caused a weight miscalculation on board one of the Anglo-German travel operator’s flights from Birmingham to Majorca.

At the top of the Stoxx 600, German lubricant manufacturer Fuchs Petrolub gained 5% after Baader Bank upgraded the stock from “sell” to “buy.”

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