This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets closed lower on Friday, as investors remained cautious on the path of inflation ahead of rate decisions by the Bank of England and Federal Reserve next week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down 0.2%, giving up earlier gains. Household goods led losses, down 1.8%, while telecoms added 1.5%.

It comes after data on Thursday showed the U.S. producer price index, which measures pipeline costs for raw, intermediate and finished goods, rose at a faster-than-expected 0.6% in February.

U.S. inflation data is being closely monitored on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starting next Tuesday.

The central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rate next week, although market participants will be searching for clues about when and by how much the Fed could start cutting interest rates over the coming months.

Philip Lane, chief economist at the European Central Bank, told CNBC on Thursday that the ECB must take its time to get interest rate cuts right and the institution will likely have a clearer picture of inflationary pressures in June.

Asia-Pacific markets fell on Friday, led lower by Hong Kong's Hang Seng index. U.S. stocks edged lower in morning trade as investors digested the latest inflation reading.

Currys shares drop as China’s JD.com walks away from takeover race

Currys shares plunged more than 10% Friday after JD.com said it would no longer pursue an offer for the main street brand.

It comes just days after Elliott Investment Management also walked away from talks to buy the brand.

The stock was trading down 4.4% by 2:50 p.m. London time.

— Karen Gilchrist

U.S. stocks move lower

The S&P 500 fell on Friday as investors tried to wrap up a volatile week after a string of fresh inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.3% in early deals while the S&P 500 traded 0.6% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.8%.

— Karen Gilchrist

HelloFresh shares up 10%

Shares of Germany's HelloFresh rose more than 10% on Friday morning after the meal-kit company released its full-year and fourth-quarter results.

The Berlin-based firm reported a total of 6.64 million active customers at the end of last year, reflecting a 6.5% decrease when compared to the same period of 2022.

HelloFresh shares plunged more than 40% last week after the recipe box delivery company disappointed with its 2024 earnings outlook. The firm's stock price has fallen 48% year-to-date.

— Sam Meredith

German property giant Vonovia falls 6%

Shares of Vonovia fell 6% on Friday morning shortly after Germany's largest landlord reported its biggest ever annual loss.

The residential real estate company on Thursday reported an annual loss of 6.76 billion euros ($7.35 billion) for 2023, up from a loss of 669.4 million euros a year earlier.

The figures come at a time when Germany's homebuilding sector has gone from bad to worse in recent months.

"The collapse of valuations is the worst we have ever seen," CEO Rolf Buch told reporters, according to Reuters.

— Sam Meredith

European markets open mixed

European markets opened mixed on Friday, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded flat shortly after the opening bell.

— Sam Meredith

CNBC Pro: UBS reveals its most and least preferred semiconductor names, giving one 70% upside

Semiconductor stocks got a lift from the rising tide of artificial intelligence.

But the divergence between semiconductor stocks that are doing well and those that aren't is becoming starker, UBS said.

Here's its list of most and least preferred names.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

CNBC Pro: Look beyond Nvidia to ride the AI wave — there are other potential winners, Fidelity says

There's a whole world of stocks beyond flashy AI names such as Nvidia for investors looking to ride the latest tech wave, according to investment firm Fidelity International

The AI boom that started with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 has been a particular boon for Nvidia, whose graphics processing units are used to train and run the chatbot. The chip designer's shares have skyrocketed almost 280% in the past year.

"Rather than focusing on so-called hot AI stocks – because names that are big today may not be the winners of tomorrow – investors may consider the many indirect beneficiaries, or diversified businesses, where the benefits of AI may not be immediately obvious to investors," Fidelity said in its report.

The investment firm named several alternative sectors it expects to benefit from the AI boom.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Sheila Chiang

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets were set to open in negative territory on Friday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is poised to open around 5 points lower at 7,738, Germany's DAX down 34 points at 17,902, France's CAC 18 points lower at 8,145 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 45 points at 33,172, according to data from IG.

The U.K.'s Berkeley Group is set to provide a trading update on Friday, while data releases include Italy's final consumer prices figures for February.

— Sam Meredith