Kering shares tumble 10.4% as Gucci sales fall, undermining recovery hopes

Kering shares slumped 10.4% on Friday after third-quarter sales at its flagship Gucci brand fell, undermining hopes for the luxury group’s recovery plan, Reuters reported.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged down 0.13% to 636.50 points by 0718 GMT, after logging its biggest one-day drop in three weeks on Thursday and putting the index on course for a weekly decline.

On the other side of earnings season, Holcim gained 5.2%. The Swiss cement maker raised its full-year earnings forecast after reporting better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit.

Broader market mood stayed cautious. Optimism over a generally strong European earnings season was overshadowed by concerns over social unrest in France, pushing the yield on its 10-year benchmark note to a 24-year high this week, while a sell-off in AI-linked stocks also weighed. Brent crude climbed more than 1%, trading at multi-month highs.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 10,670 points by 1020 GMT, set for a weekly decline. Rolls-Royce slid 6.4% to the bottom of the index and French rival Safran dropped 8% on worries that an aftermarket sales slowdown could continue into 2027. Oil prices hit their highest levels in over five months, with Brent close to $114 a barrel.

British retail sales volumes fell 0.4% in September, worse than the 0.1% decline economists expected, while consumer confidence plunged in October, its steepest monthly fall since the pandemic. Markets are looking ahead to finance minister John Healey’s budget next week.