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European stocks mixed ahead of U.S. growth data; DAX down 0.45%

Published 07/27/2012, 04:27 AM
Updated 07/27/2012, 04:28 AM

Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of U.S. second quarter economic growth data, while comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and speculation of further easing measures by the Federal Reserve supported sentiment.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.11%, France’s CAC 40 eased up 0.06%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.45%.

Sentiment found support after ECB President Draghi said on Thursday that the bank will do whatever is necessary to preserve the euro.

In a speech in London, Draghi appeared to indicate that the ECB would be prepared to intervene to lower Spanish and Italian bond yields, saying that government borrowing costs would fall within the central bank’s mandate if they interfered with the 'transmission' of monetary policy.

Meanwhile, investors were eyeing data on second quarter U.S. gross domestic product, as a string of mixed economic reports on Thursday sparked fresh expectations for further easing measures by the Fed.

Financial stocks were broadly higher, as Spanish lenders Banco Santander and BBVA rallied 2.24% and 1.67%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo advanced 1.78% and 1.03% respectively.

France's BNP Paribas also climbed 1.77%, while Germany's two biggest lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rose 0.38% and 0.99%.

Meanwhile, French aerospace and defense giant EADS surged 6.17% after it said that first-half profit rose 89% and the company lifted its full-year earnings forecast as Airbus SAS delivered more planes.

Also in earnings, PPR, the French owner of the Gucci luxury brand, climbed 4.53% as it reported first-half recurring operating income rose 20% to EUR815.3 million in the six months ending June 30.

On the downside, Europe’s biggest supplier of building materials, Saint-Gobain, plummeted 9.23% as it reduced its full-year outlook because of the euro zone's debt crisis.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.12%, weighed by losses in energy stocks.

Oil and gas major Anglo American tumbled 3.12% after saying first-half earnings slid 46%, more than analysts expected, as commodity prices declined. BP saw shares decline 0.18%.

Mining stocks were mixed, as shares in copper producers Antofagasta and Kazakhmys dropped 1.23%, and 0.58% respectively, while rival Xstrata advanced 0.66%.

Elsewhere, financial stocks were also mixed. Barclays led gains with shares rallying 4.33%, after announcing that pretax profit excluding debt-valuation adjustments and other one-time items for the six months ending June 30 rose 13% to GBP4.2 billion pounds.

Meanwhile, the Royal Bank of Scotland edged down 0.12% and HSBC Holdings dropped 0.32%, while Lloyds Banking saw shares retreat 0.46%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.09% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% increase.

Also Friday, official data showed that Spain's unemployment rate rose slightly less-than-expected in the second quarter, ticking up to 24.6% from 24.4% in the previous quarter. Analysts had expected Spain's unemployment rate to rise to 24.9% in the second quarter.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish advanced data on second quarter economic growth followed by a report by the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.


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