British News Agency

As the closing bell rang at the London Stock Exchange, the pan-European Stoxx 600 Index climbed more than 0.4% to 588.07 points, reaching a record level. Major stock exchanges across the region were in positive territory, although sector performance was mixed.

Looking at individual stocks, sportswear giants Puma and Adidas fell by 3% and 1%, respectively, as concerns over the performance of U.S. rival Nike spilled over to companies on the other side of the Atlantic.

Although Nike exceeded Wall Street expectations with its second-quarter financial results, investors were unsettled by weakness in the Chinese market and the ongoing impact of the Trump administration’s tariff regime.

Nike shares lost 10% of their value and fell 20% from their February peak. Puma ranked among the worst-performing stocks on the Stoxx 600 index on Friday, sitting at the bottom of the index. Meanwhile, Italian luxury carmaker Ferrari rose by 1.7%.

Regional investors were shaken following a day packed with central bank decisions on Thursday, including monetary policy updates from the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, Norges Bank and Riksbank. Apart from the Bank of England, which cut interest rates by 25 basis points, all other central banks left their main interest rates unchanged. The ECB raised its economic growth forecast for the euro area, projecting growth of 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026.

European Union officials announced on Friday that they had approved a €90 billion ($105.5 billion) aid package for Ukraine and had chosen not to resort to frozen Russian assets to provide loans to Kyiv. Economic data released in Europe on Friday included Germany’s latest GfK consumer confidence index, UK retail sales figures and Italy’s business confidence index.

Across the Atlantic, global investors will be watching existing home sales figures and the final reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for December. Supported by a rebound in artificial intelligence stocks after recent volatility, Oracle-backed Wall Street also rose on Friday.