France weighs on Stoxx 600 index

LONDON — European stocks tumbled on Friday, rounding off a choppy week that has delivered a host of fresh information for investors.

The Stoxx 600 index opened slightly higher but was down 0.9% at 11 a.m. in London, keeping the regional benchmark on course for one of its worst weeks of the year so far.

French stocks plunged 2.25%, with investors still spooked by the possibility of victory for the populist, far-right National Rally party, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s surprise decision to call domestic parliamentary elections. The country’s short-dated bond yields, which move inversely to prices, tumbled by seven basis points.

Stateside, two sets of inflation data — the consumer price index and the producer price index — both came in softer than expected this week, boosting U.S. stocks. Between those readings, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and revised its outlook for interest rate cuts to just one such curb taking place in 2024.

Money market pricing continues to suggest expectations for two 25 basis point reductions from the current 5.25%-5.5% range before the end of the year, according to LSEG data.