European stock markets finish the week strong

The non-farm payrolls came in a bit softer than the whisper numbers, giving the “bad news is good news” crowd a reason to cheer. For the ECB, it doesn’t change much, but for equity bulls, it was the green light they needed to keep the momentum going.

Here’s the closing scoreboard for the week ending January 9, 2026:

The STOXX 600 rose 2.23% on the week, a solid performance that speaks to improving breadth across sectors. Cyclicals quietly outperformed defensives, suggesting investors are leaning into growth without fully abandoning caution.

Germany’s DAX led the major benchmarks with a 2.86% weekly gain, continuing to benefit from easing energy concerns and resilience in industrial exporters. The move also reflects growing confidence that Europe’s manufacturing downturn may be stabilizing rather than accelerating.

France’s CAC 40 added 1.89%, helped by strength in luxury and industrial names, while the FTSE 100 climbed 1.82%, outperforming global peers as energy and financials provided ballast.

Southern Europe lagged slightly after a great year in 2025 but still finished higher. Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.75%, and Spain’s IBEX 35 rose 0.92%, with banks consolidating after strong year-to-date runs.

That’s a solid first real trading week. There isn’t too much intrigue on the ECB front as they’ve moved to the sidelines. In politics, they’ve been hammering out a MERCOSUR (South America) trading deal and that looks like it’s heading towards completion. The hopes for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal appear to be slipping but peace deals often come out of the blue so we will see what happens next. Russia used a hyper-sonic missile on Friday.