European stocks lost ground on Friday, putting them on course for weekly declines, as signs of persistent U.S. price pressures and a recovering euro zone economy dashed hopes of several interest rate cuts from major central banks this year.
The U.S. dollar edged lower in early European trade Friday, but was still on course for its largest weekly rise in over a month on fading expectations of early Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Oil prices were stable on Friday as investors considered the latest comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rates amid sticky inflation, while signs of firming seasonal U.S. fuel demand lent support.
Bitcoin price fell on Friday, pulling back even further from highs hit earlier in the week as concerns over high for longer U.S. interest rates largely offset a key development in the U.S. approval of exchange-traded funds that directly track Ether.
The best performers of the session on the Nikkei 225 were Fujikura Ltd. (TYO:5803), which rose 4.88% or 149.00 points to trade at 3,205.00 at the close. Meanwhile, Shiseido Co., Ltd. (TYO:4911) added 4.22% or 203.00 points to end at 5,018.00 and DIC Corp (TYO:4631) was up 3.82% or 121.00 points to 3,292.00 in late trade.
