This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European stock markets closed lower on Friday, rounding off a week in which escalating tensions in the Middle East and repricing of interest rate expectations have been in focus.

The regional Stoxx 600 index provisionally ended 0.1% lower. After a strong start to 2024, the index is heading for its first monthly loss since October.

Retail stocks lost 0.6% after U.K. retail sales underperfomed in March, coming in flat on the previous month.

In the latest back-and-forth between the countries, Israel launched a limited direct military attack on Iranian soil early Friday morning, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News.

Oil prices gained on the news, along with safe haven asset gold.

Investors are also monitoring a slew of commentary on the path of interest rates emerging from the International Monetary Fund's Spring Meetings in New York.

European Central Bank voting member François Villeroy de Galhau told CNBC on Thursday that the institution should cut interest rates in June to avoid falling behind the inflation curve, in a message that echoed ECB President Christine Lagarde.

But markets have become significantly less confident there will be a June cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve or Bank of England, after two hotter-than-expected inflation prints.

European markets close lower

European markets closed lower on Friday as investors continued to monitor escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended down 0.1%, will many sectors in the red. Technology led the losses, down 1.7%.

— April Roach

UK inflation could hold around 2% target for next three years, BOE’s Dave Ramsden says

Dave Ramsden, deputy governor for markets and banking at the Bank of England, said Friday that U.K. inflation could hold around the 2% target for the next three years, Reuters reported.

"For me the balance of domestic risks to the outlook for UK inflation, relative to the February [...] forecasts, is now tilted to the downside, with a scenario where inflation stays close to the 2% target over the whole forecast period at least as likely," Ramsden said in comments prepared for a conference organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Wednesday that the outlook in Europe differed from that in the U.S. and voiced optimism that U.K. inflation was falling.

The BOE forecasts inflation will fall below its 2% target in the second quarter, before rising back toward 3% later this year.

- April Roach

Dow opens higher

The Dow was up as Friday's trading session kicked off.

The blue-chip index added about 0.2% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 was near flat, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.

— Alex Harring

Higher oil prices from escalating Israel-Iran tensions will make the Fed more dovish: Strategist

Viktor Shvets of Macquarie Capital says "risk is everywhere", and policymakers and central banks will look through risks and supply side disruptions.

Bitcoin price drops below $60,000 before rebounding as halving approaches

Bitcoin rose above $64,000 on Friday, rebounding from a drop below the $60,000 mark, as the cryptocurrency continues to experience volatility ahead of the upcoming halving event.

The price of bitcoin was $64,949.68 at around 12:34 p.m. in London, according to Coin Metrics data, after falling below the $60,000 threshold late Thursday.

The volatile trade comes ahead of the upcoming halving, which is slated to take place this week. This is when the rewards for bitcoin miners are slashed in half. Halving happens every four years and is written in the code of bitcoin. The result is a slowing supply of bitcoin into the market.

In prior bitcoin cycles, the halving preceded a bull run for the cryptocurrency.

Read more here.

— Arjun Kharpal

Stocks on the move: Royal Unibrew, L'Oreal higher, Ipsos falls

Danish drinks company Royal Unibrew led Stoxx 600 gains in late morning trade, up 14.7% after upgrading its profit growth forecast in a trading statement on Thursday.

Cosmetics giant L'Oreal was 4% higher on first-quarter sales figures, which showed a 8.3% year-on-year increase.

At the bottom of the index, market research firm Ipsos dropped 6.7% on the back of its own first-quarter results. Revenue was higher overall, but fell regionally by 3.2% in the Americas, the business' second-biggest market.

— Jenni Reid

UK retail sales flat in March

U.K. retail sales growth stalled in March, figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.

Sales volumes were flat month-on-month, following 0.1% growth in February. Volumes in food stores fell 0.7% while non-store retail sales, which includes online shops, stalls and markets, declined 1.5%.

Alex Kerr, assistant economist at Capital Economics, said that although the monthly reading was worse than forecast, sales volumes still rose by 1.9% quarter-on-quarter over the first three months of the year, "bringing the retail recession to an end."

"As inflation falls, we still think rising real household incomes will support retail activity throughout 2024," Kerr added.

— Jenni Reid

Europe stocks open lower

European stock markets opened in the red on Friday, with the Stoxx 600 index down by 0.8% at 8:30 a.m. in London.

Major bourses were lower, with Germany's DAX down 1.1%, France's CAC 40 down 0.86% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down 0.6%.

— Jenni Reid

Safe haven assets rise after unconfirmed reports of explosions in Iran; gold hits fresh record

Safe haven assets rose following reports of unconfirmed explosions in Iran, with the country's Fars news agency reportedly saying that explosions were heard near the airport at the country's central Isfahan city, but the reason was unknown.

Spot gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high of 2,411.09 per ounce, while the yen strengthened 0.45% to 153.93 against the U.S. dollar.

Prices of bitcoin fell 1.44% to $60,186, according to Coin Metrics data.

— Lim Hui Jie

Oil prices up 3% after reports of explosions in Iran

Oil prices jumped more than 3% after unconfirmed reports of explosions near the Iranian city of Isfahan.

Iran's Fars news agency reported that explosions were heard near the Isfahan airport, but emphasized that the reason was unknown.

Global benchmark Brent traded 2.86% higher at $89.60 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 2.83% to $85.05 per barrel.

—Lee Ying Shan

CNBC Pro: Here are the 6 stocks that rise when Nvidia shares fall

Six stocks in the S&P 500 rise often whenever Nvidia shares fall, according to a CNBC Pro analysis.

CNBC Pro screened for stocks in the S&P 500 that are inversely correlated to Nvida's over a month and year period after the stock fell into correction territory for the second time this month.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the six stocks here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: As India heads to the polls, the pros name 8 top stocks to buy

A growing population, strong consumption levels and a pickup in manufacturing activity have propelled India's economy in the last year — and market watchers are actively seeking out opportunities in the South Asian powerhouse.

India's stock market too, has been booming, pushing economists to say its market capitalization could hit $60 trillion in the next two decades.

It comes as India's mammoth election — with about 970 million registered voters — gets underway, running between Apr. 19 and Jun. 1.

We asked the pros to name sectors — and stocks — in the country to play right now.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

Bank of Latvia Governor Mārtiņš Kazāks shares his views on rate cuts

— Katrina Bishop

ECB should cut interest rates in June, policymaker says

The European Central Bank should cut interest rates in June to avoid falling behind the inflation curve, according to policymaker François Villeroy de Galhau.

"The question is the next Governing Council which will be early June ... and here barring a major surprise we should cut rates because we are now confident enough and increasingly confident about the disinflationary path in the euro area," Bank of France Governor Villeroy told CNBC's Karen Tso on Thursday.

Read more here.

— Sam Meredith