Yahoo Finance FTSE flat and Europe up as Lagarde lays out 'wait and see' approach for rates
How major markets are performing on Friday
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was almost flat and major European markets were in the green by the close on Friday, as European Central Bank president Christina Lagarde laid out the bloc's stance on interest rates.
The DAX (^GDAXI) in Germany rose 0.2% and Paris's CAC (^FCHI) was also up 0.2%. Meanwhile the FTSE pulled back from losses earlier in the session.
The moves in Europe came following comments from Lagarde that the bloc is entering a 'wait and see' phase in terms of changes to its bank rate. Despite this, she said the battle against inflation isn't over.
US stock indexes were also muted as markets prepare for a shorter day of trade i following the Thanksgiving holiday with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) flat, the Dow (^DJI) up 0.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) down 0.2%.
The moves come amid annual Black Friday sales and fresh data showing that UK consumer confidence ticked upwards in November, according to a monthly GfK report.
The report indicates that people's personal financial situation is improving.
"Recent ups and downs in confidence have underlined the nation’s topsy-turvy economic mood as encouraging news about falling inflation and wage growth is offset by high personal taxation, alongside costly fuel and energy bills," said Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK.
Read more: Jeremy Hunt announces alcohol tax freeze ahead of Christmas party season
"The dramatic 10-point jump in our major purchase sub-measure, reversing some of the worrying 14-point drop we saw last month, will be good news for retailers looking to benefit from Black Friday and Christmas," he added.
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