European shares were under slight pressure on Friday as investors waved goodbye to 2017 and look ahead to what the New Year will bring for markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX: .STOXX) index was slightly below the flatline in morning deals on Friday. On the bourses front, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) outperformed fellow indices, up 0.4 percent, boosted by an uptick in London-listed miners. Meanwhile, the French CAC (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) and German DAX (XETRA: .GDAXI) fell into negative territory. Italy's FTSE MIB (FTSE International: .FTMIB) opened higher after the country's president dissolved parliament and called an election for March 4 2018. However in morning deals, the index posted declines. Trade is set to be relatively lighter than usual on Friday, with the session marking the last day of trade in 2017. Investors are now looking ahead to 2018, wondering what the year will deliver in terms of market-moving events and trends. The U.K.'s FTSE is set to close early, at 12:30 p.m. London time, with Ireland closing shortly afterwards. Other indices such as the Euronext, IBEX and German DAX are expected to trade their normal hours.Apple apologizes for iPhone slowdowns In individual stock news, British chip firm Dialog Semiconductor was a top performer, up 2.5 percent. This comes after Apple issued an apology over the handling of its battery issue , stating that it would make a number of changes for customers "to recognize their loyalty" and try to regain the trust of any who doubted the intentions of the firm. Sticking with the top gainers, takeaway ordering service Just Eat (London Stock Exchange: JE.-GB) rose almost 3 percent, while Dutch pharmaceutical firm H. Lundbeck (Copenhagen Stock Exchange: LUN-DK) popped almost 2 percent. Meanwhile U.K. infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (London Stock Exchange: BBY-GB) saw its share price decline by 0.6 percent Friday on news that the firm had sold an additional stake in Connect Plus, the operator of London's M25 orbital motorway, Reuters reported. In market-moving news, Volkswagen (XETRA: VOW3-DE) was trading in the red. This comes after the company said that it would petition Germany's constitutional court, to try and overturn the appointment of a special auditor to investigate the actions concerning the management of the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal; Reuters reported. Shares of Airbus (Euronext Paris: AIR-FR) were fluctuating around the flatline on news that the plane manufacturer had finalized a deal with Indigo Partners for 430 A320neo planes.US WTI rises above $60 Looking to geopolitics, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that he was "very disappointed", after a report indicated that China could have run afoul of international sanctions, by providing oil to North Korea. China has denied the accusations . Looking to commodities, oil prices were trading higher with U.S. crude trading above $60 a barrel, hitting their highest levels since the middle of 2015. Prices were lifted on the back of an unexpected decline in commercial crude inventories and U.S. production. Meantime, basic resources was one of the best performing sectors Friday, despite a decline in metal prices. Travel and leisure stocks also posted solid gains. Overseas, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher , with the Dow Jones industrial average notching another record close Thursday: its seventy-first record close of 2017. Meanwhile in Asian-Pacific trade , stocks showed a mixed to positive session. No major data or earnings are expected to be released. European shares were under slight pressure on Friday as investors waved goodbye to 2017 and look ahead to what the New Year will bring for markets. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX: .STOXX) index was slightly below the flatline in morning deals on Friday. On the bourses front, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 (FTSE International: .FTSE) outperformed fellow indices, up 0.4 percent, boosted by an uptick in London-listed miners. Meanwhile, the French CAC (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) and German DAX (XETRA: .GDAXI) fell into negative territory. Italy's FTSE MIB (FTSE International: .FTMIB) opened higher after the country's president dissolved parliament and called an election for March 4 2018. However in morning deals, the index posted declines. Trade is set to be relatively lighter than usual on Friday, with the session marking the last day of trade in 2017. Investors are now looking ahead to 2018, wondering what the year will deliver in terms of market-moving events and trends. The U.K.'s FTSE is set to close early, at 12:30 p.m. London time, with Ireland closing shortly afterwards. Other indices such as the Euronext, IBEX and German DAX are expected to trade their normal hours. Apple apologizes for iPhone slowdowns In individual stock news, British chip firm Dialog Semiconductor was a top performer, up 2.5 percent. This comes after Apple issued an apology over the handling of its battery issue , stating that it would make a number of changes for customers "to recognize their loyalty" and try to regain the trust of any who doubted the intentions of the firm. Sticking with the top gainers, takeaway ordering service Just Eat (London Stock Exchange: JE.-GB) rose almost 3 percent, while Dutch pharmaceutical firm H. Lundbeck (Copenhagen Stock Exchange: LUN-DK) popped almost 2 percent. Meanwhile U.K. infrastructure group Balfour Beatty (London Stock Exchange: BBY-GB) saw its share price decline by 0.6 percent Friday on news that the firm had sold an additional stake in Connect Plus, the operator of London's M25 orbital motorway, Reuters reported. In market-moving news, Volkswagen (XETRA: VOW3-DE) was trading in the red. This comes after the company said that it would petition Germany's constitutional court, to try and overturn the appointment of a special auditor to investigate the actions concerning the management of the "Dieselgate" emissions scandal; Reuters reported. Shares of Airbus (Euronext Paris: AIR-FR) were fluctuating around the flatline on news that the plane manufacturer had finalized a deal with Indigo Partners for 430 A320neo planes. US WTI rises above $60 Looking to geopolitics, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that he was "very disappointed", after a report indicated that China could have run afoul of international sanctions, by providing oil to North Korea. China has denied the accusations . Looking to commodities, oil prices were trading higher with U.S. crude trading above $60 a barrel, hitting their highest levels since the middle of 2015. Prices were lifted on the back of an unexpected decline in commercial crude inventories and U.S. production. Meantime, basic resources was one of the best performing sectors Friday, despite a decline in metal prices. Travel and leisure stocks also posted solid gains. Overseas, U.S. stocks closed slightly higher , with the Dow Jones industrial average notching another record close Thursday: its seventy-first record close of 2017. Meanwhile in Asian-Pacific trade , stocks showed a mixed to positive session. No major data or earnings are expected to be released.
More From CNBC