City workers in the La Defense business district of Paris, France, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.
Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — European stocks closed higher on Friday, as international relations and corporate earnings remained in focus.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.5% higher, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
It’s been a busy week of corporate earnings in Europe, with Friday a slightly quieter day on the earnings front before a flurry of companies report again next week.
Shares of German sportswear giant Adidas added almost 4% Friday after the company published an earnings update after the bell on Thursday. The preliminary figures showed currency-neutral revenues jumped 13% in 2025 to hit a record 24.8 billion euros ($29.6 billion).
Elsewhere, Spain’s CaixaBank reported early Friday morning that its net profit rose 1.8% to 5.89 billion euros ($7 billion), above the 5.78 billion euros expected by analysts. Dividends jumped 15% to 0.50 euros per share. Touting a “great year,” the bank raised its growth and profitability targets.
Shares of the lender were 6.7% higher.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that he is naming Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, who served at the central bank during the 2008 Financial Crisis, to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair.
The decision culminates a process that officially began last summer but started much earlier than that, with Trump launching a fusillade of criticism against the Powell-led Fed almost since Powell took the job in 2018.
“While [Warsh’s] recent comments have been supportive of lower rates, in the past he’s been hawkishly critical of the Fed’s expansive use of its balance sheet,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said of Warsh in a Friday morning note before Trump’s nomination was announced.
“Treasuries and equity futures have reacted negatively in response overnight … the initial market reaction [is] consistent with a view that the Fed put for asset prices could be less strong under Warsh as Chair than under other candidates.”
Geopolitics remains in focus for European investors. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned it was “very dangerous” for the U.K. to be making deals with China. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is currently on a 4-day visit to China, where he is hoping to reset ties between London and Beijing.
Separately, Trump said he had convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin not to strike Ukraine during a week of fiercely cold temperatures in the country. The Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine could therefore be a test of Moscow’s willingness to abide by agreements made with the Trump administration.
The White House is also reported to be weighing further strikes on Iran, with speculation around Trump’s next move sparking volatility in the oil market.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. stocks open lower on Friday morning following another negative session on Wall Street.
