Investing.com - European stock markets remained mixed in choppy trade on Thursday, with equities showing a muted reaction to mostly upbeat U.S. data, while the FTSE came under pressure after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook late Wednesday.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 was flat, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.3%.
Markets shrugged off a report from the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the U.S. last week fell to 351,000, matching a four-year low.
A separate report showed that manufacturing conditions in New York improved to a 21-month high in March, adding to evidence of an improving U.S. economy.
Also Thursday, government data showed that showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected, while core producer prices rose at an annualized rate of 3.0% last month, unchanged from the previous month.
Shares in lenders were active ahead of the expected approval of a EUR28 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund for debt-strapped Greece.
The IMF executive board is expected to approve the loan on Thursday, bringing to a close a couple of months of worries about whether Greece would have a disorderly default.
French lender Societe Generale slumped 1.6%, Deutsche Bank retreated 0.8%, while Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.55%.
Spanish lenders Banco Santander and BBVA were modestly lower, after the Spanish Treasury sold EUR3 billion of bonds at auction, within the target range and with yields mostly lower.
Meanwhile, French wine and spirits maker Pernod Ricard dropped 2.75% after shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert said on Wednesday it was selling up to 6.2 million shares or EUR509 million of its stake in the company.
Automakers held on to losses after the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said that European auto sales dropped 9.2% in February, the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
Renault and Peugeot slumped 1.95% and 1.35% respectively, while German automakers Volkswagen and BMW declined 0.3% and 0.6% respectively.
On the upside, Zodiac Aerospace jumped 5.2% after it confirmed its sales growth forecast for the full fiscal year 2011-2012, as sales climbed 19.6% in the first half.
German cement maker HeidelbergCement added 2.9% after predicting operating profit and sales will rise this year.
German fertilizer supplier K+S Group surged 6.3%, as it raised its dividend for 2011 by 30% after posting the second-best earnings in the firm’s history.
Elsewhere, London’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 shed 0.2% after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook late Wednesday.
The agency warned that the country had more than a 50% chance of losing the rating as the UK government had “limited fiscal space” left for maneuver.
Financials were broadly lower, with Royal Bank of Scotland dropping 1.9% and HSBC Holdings down 0.75%.
Retailer Tesco saw shares decline 1% after Richard Brasher, head of its UK business, stepped down after a recent profit warning by the supermarket.
But gains in miners provided support, after metal prices rebounded from the previous day’s sharp drop. BHP Billiton added 1.15% and Rio Tinto gained 1.25%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a modestly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures eased up 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.2% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on manufacturing conditions in Philadelphia.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 was flat, while Germany’s DAX 30 added 0.3%.
Markets shrugged off a report from the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the U.S. last week fell to 351,000, matching a four-year low.
A separate report showed that manufacturing conditions in New York improved to a 21-month high in March, adding to evidence of an improving U.S. economy.
Also Thursday, government data showed that showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose slightly less-than-expected, while core producer prices rose at an annualized rate of 3.0% last month, unchanged from the previous month.
Shares in lenders were active ahead of the expected approval of a EUR28 billion loan by the International Monetary Fund for debt-strapped Greece.
The IMF executive board is expected to approve the loan on Thursday, bringing to a close a couple of months of worries about whether Greece would have a disorderly default.
French lender Societe Generale slumped 1.6%, Deutsche Bank retreated 0.8%, while Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo declined 0.55%.
Spanish lenders Banco Santander and BBVA were modestly lower, after the Spanish Treasury sold EUR3 billion of bonds at auction, within the target range and with yields mostly lower.
Meanwhile, French wine and spirits maker Pernod Ricard dropped 2.75% after shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert said on Wednesday it was selling up to 6.2 million shares or EUR509 million of its stake in the company.
Automakers held on to losses after the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said that European auto sales dropped 9.2% in February, the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
Renault and Peugeot slumped 1.95% and 1.35% respectively, while German automakers Volkswagen and BMW declined 0.3% and 0.6% respectively.
On the upside, Zodiac Aerospace jumped 5.2% after it confirmed its sales growth forecast for the full fiscal year 2011-2012, as sales climbed 19.6% in the first half.
German cement maker HeidelbergCement added 2.9% after predicting operating profit and sales will rise this year.
German fertilizer supplier K+S Group surged 6.3%, as it raised its dividend for 2011 by 30% after posting the second-best earnings in the firm’s history.
Elsewhere, London’s commodity-heavy FTSE 100 shed 0.2% after ratings agency Fitch placed the U.K.’s triple-A credit rating on negative outlook late Wednesday.
The agency warned that the country had more than a 50% chance of losing the rating as the UK government had “limited fiscal space” left for maneuver.
Financials were broadly lower, with Royal Bank of Scotland dropping 1.9% and HSBC Holdings down 0.75%.
Retailer Tesco saw shares decline 1% after Richard Brasher, head of its UK business, stepped down after a recent profit warning by the supermarket.
But gains in miners provided support, after metal prices rebounded from the previous day’s sharp drop. BHP Billiton added 1.15% and Rio Tinto gained 1.25%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a modestly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.1%, S&P 500 futures eased up 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.2% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release government data on manufacturing conditions in Philadelphia.