Europe open: Shares fall on geopolitical worries; Ericsson surges

(Sharecast News) - European shares opened lower on Friday as investors assessed geopolitical developments, including the first tripartite talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US since Moscow's unprovoked invasion in 2022.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.09% to 608 at 0831 GMT. Other bourses were mixed with Germany's DAX 0.03% lower and the UK's FTSE up 0.25%.

News of the three-way talks in the United Arab Emirates on ending the war in Ukraine emerged overnight although there were no details on whether Russian and Ukrainian officials would hold face-to-face discussions.

Progress has been stalled for months as Ukraine rejected Russian demands that it gave up territory seized by Moscow, renounce ambitions to join the Nato military alliance and not allow Nato peacekeeping troops in the country after a peace deal is signed.

Meanwhile, oil prices picked up, with Brent crude up 0.81% at $64.58 on comments by US President Donald Trump said he had an "armada" heading towards Iran after a heavy crackdown by Tehran on anti-regime protestors.

Gold hit yet another record high of $4,967 an ounce, also driven by geopolitical risks.

"The weak dollar is helping to push gold to a fresh record high. The gold price is higher by more than 7% this week and is up $20 so far on Friday. There is no stopping the gold price right now, as the $5,000 per ounce level beckons," said XTB research director Kathleen Brooks.

"Investors may be willing to buy stocks in this environment, but geopolitical risk and an unconventional US President is keeping demand for the yellow metal alive as we move through January."

In economic news, the Bank of Japan held its key interest rate unchanged at 0.75% and raised its growth and inflation forecasts for the economy, suggesting this could be enough to raise the cost of borrowing as the country prepared for a snap election next month.

In equity news, Ericsson shares surged after the telecoms giant smashed quarterly earnings estimates and said it planned to return 15 billion Swedish crowns ($1.7bn) to investors through its first ever share buyback programme. The news also boosted stock in Finland's Nokia.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com