Across the Atlantic, gloom also set in on Wall Street, with the Nasdaq falling 1.55%, reflecting mounting pressure on tech stocks and persistent concerns related to AI. The tech-heavy index, which even hit its lowest level in over two months, was notably dragged down by a sharp decline in Qualcomm (-7% around 5:45pm). Despite quarterly results beating expectations, the chipmaker was penalized due to downgraded forecasts.

Thursday's session was marked by central banks, which, like the Fed last week, opted for the status quo. Unsurprisingly, the ECB kept its main policy rate unchanged at 2% for the fifth consecutive time.

"According to the baseline scenario, policy rates should remain unchanged throughout 2026. However, given the accumulation of external risks, the balance of risks for this year remains tilted towards potential easing. The evolution of monetary policy from now on will depend on the interplay between the resilience of domestic dynamics and the growing fragility of external conditions," analyze Valentin Bissat, Chief Economist & Senior Strategist, and Marie Thibout, Economist and Senior Strategist at Mirabaud.

Earlier, the Bank of England had also held its rates at 3.75%, after a tight 5-to-4 vote. "In Amundi's central scenario, inflation should fall sharply between the second and third quarters, which argues for monetary status quo at least until March, amid strong divisions within the monetary policy committee," notes Alessia Berardi, Head of Global Macroeconomics at Amundi Investment Institute.

On the macroeconomic front, the US Labor Department's JOLTS report announced 6.542 million job openings in December, where consensus had targeted 7.2 million. A month earlier, job openings stood at 6.928 million.

Additionally, weekly jobless claims came in higher than expected, at 231,000 versus the 212,000 anticipated, after 209,000 the previous week.

The release of the monthly US employment report, initially scheduled for Friday, was postponed to February 11 due to the partial shutdown of the federal government.

In Europe, retail sales in the eurozone fell by 0.5% in December compared to the previous month, while analysts had expected a more modest decline of 0.2%, after a 0.1% increase in November (revised from +0.2%).

In Germany, industrial orders rose unexpectedly in December. After a 5.7% jump in November (revised from an initial estimate of 5.6%), they climbed 7.8% in volume compared to the previous month, according to Destatis.

BNP Paribas Shines Ahead of Société Générale Tomorrow

 In Paris, BNP Paribas (+1.15%) enjoyed a calm session after beating expectations in the fourth quarter and raising its profitability target for 2028.

In Frankfurt, Rheinmetall (-6.25%) ended at the bottom of the Dax after the German defense group presented analysts with forecasts deemed disappointing for 2026.

In Stockholm, Swedish automaker Volvo Cars (-23.24%), controlled by China's Geely, plunged 28%—an unprecedented drop—after reporting quarterly results below analyst expectations, amid sluggish demand and pricing pressures. In its wake, Renault, BMW, Volkswagen, OPmobility, and Stellantis also ended lower.

Tomorrow, Société Générale will put the finishing touch on the 2025 bank earnings season within the flagship Paris index. Internationally, Toyota and Philip Morris will also publish their results. On the macroeconomic front, the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment index will be closely watched in the afternoon.

On the currency market, the euro is down 0.03% at 1.1797 dollars.

Meanwhile, Brent crude is down 2%.