Jan 23 (Reuters) – European shares fell on Friday and were on course to snap their longest run of weekly gains since May, as investors weighed the potential fallout from the latest flare-up in trade tensions linked to Greenland.
The pan-European STOXX 600 edged 0.2% lower by 0803 GMT, poised to snap a five-week winning streak. The benchmark index has lost 1% so far this week.
Markets were jolted this week by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to implement tariffs on eight European countries until Washington is allowed to buy Greenland.
While Trump has since dropped the threat, citing a Greenland deal with NATO, investors remain wary of tariffs being used as a bargaining chip.
Elsewhere, purchasing managers’ index figures are due in both Europe and the U.S., with investors watching the surveys for fresh clues on economic momentum.
“They are likely to confirm the ongoing resilience of the euro zone’s gradual recovery despite geopolitical headwinds,” economists at ING wrote in a note.
Among individual movers, BASF dropped 2% after preliminary figures showed the German chemical giant’s profit fell in 2025 due to lower margins and negative currency effects.
French lender BNP Paribas was down 0.7%. The bank plans to cut around 1,200 jobs at its asset management unit by the end of 2027, Reuters reported on Thursday.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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