European markets closed lower on Friday after a rocky start to 2025 for stocks around the world

The Stoxx 600 index closed 0.49% lower, losing most of Thursday’s gains as sectors pulled back.

Autos stocks were among the worst performers, down 1.79%, while travel and leisure stocks shed 1.62%. One of the few sectors to rise was financial services, with stocks last seen 0.4% higher.

Oil and gas stocks also rose over 1%, led by gains for Finnish oil refiner Neste, which climbed 4.8% on reports of a series of new airline fuel contracts.

At the other end of the Stoxx 600, Stellantis

 was down 3.8% after the Italian carmaker reported a 45.7% reduction in car production in 2024 — its lowest output since 1956, according to Reuters.

U.S. stocks opened higher following a choppy start to 2025 which marked the fifth consecutive session of declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed overnight, with Chinese stocks extending declines as investors assessed policy signals from Beijing, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and South Korean markets were both in positive territory.