Stores became more jittery in later trade, after fresh comments from the U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, saw patrons in the U.S. dip into the red. On Thursday, Ross told CNBC that the U.S. was still “miles and miles from getting a resolution,” adding that there are “caboodles and lots of issues” when it comes to trade deals.
Ross’ comments come as Washington and Beijing try to fix their trade tiffs, under a tariff cease-fire which is slated to end at the beginning of March. The news saw markets pare gains, as uncertainty neighbourhood a trade deal festered. At the start of the U.S. session, Wall Street fluctuated between gains and losses.
Elsewhere, calls in Europe have been tuning into the latest news coming out of the European Central Bank. On Thursday, the main bank decided that it wouldn’t take any action, opting to hold fire on its benchmark interest rates.
After the speed decision, President Mario Draghi stated that risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook had sold to the downside, based on “the persistence of uncertainties related to geopolitical factors and the threat of protectionism, vulnerabilities in emerging markets and monetary market volatility.”
Looking at Europe’s corporate space, technology sector closed more than 2 percent violent. The industry was given a boost after STMicroelectronics earnings were published.
In early afternoon trade, the semiconductor rose to the top of the STOXX 600, after its earnings report gave off an upbeat note for the second half of the year, stating that one of its sheer aims for 2019 was to continue to outperform in its served market.
In autos, Renault came off its highs, but closed in the black after the automaker ratified that the appointment of its new chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard and its new chief executive, Thierry Bollore. Earlier on in the day, French finance envoy Bruno Le Maire said in an interview that embattled executive Carlos Ghosn had resigned from Renault.
Looking at other cows, shares of Novozymes closed a little over 5 percent, after the biotech firm reported earnings. Looking at its 2018 issues, the group said that while it had a “satisfactory” year that was in line with its initial outlook, it had seen a frail performance in its Middle Eastern market region.
Another weak link in trade was Reckitt Benckiser, after the U.K.-listed settle down had its rating and target price slashed by Jefferies. Shares closed just under 3 percent.
Outside of corporate expos, investors continue to keep an eye on politics as uncertainty surrounding the future of Brexit and the ongoing government shutdown in the U.S. weigh on sensibility.
— CNBC’s Spriha Srivastava contributed to this report