Investing.com - European markets opened mixed on Friday, moderately affected by an overnight rout in U.S. and Asia equities amid continuously high bond yields and following news of another U.S. government shutdown.
The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.39%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.12% by 03:30 a.m. ET (07:30 GMT).
Equity markets remained highly volatile overnight, still weighed by concerns surrounding rising inflation, pushing bond yields up. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was still hovering near a recent four-year peak on Friday.
Markets were also hit after a midnight deadline to pass a U.S. budget deal was missed on Thursday due to a prolonged speech by Senator Rand Paul, who objected to $300 billion in deficit spending in the bill saying that it would “loot the Treasury.”
U.S. congressional leaders had reached a two-year budget deal on Wednesday to raise government spending by almost $300 billion.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) declined 0.40% and 1.07%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) retreated 0.59% and 1.51%.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) slid 0.75% and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) advanced 0.48% in Italy, while Spain's BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) tumbled 1.05% and 1.29% respectively.
Elsewhere, L’Oreal SA (PA:OREP) saw shares rally 1.75% after the cosmetics giant reported a 5.5% increase in fourth-quarter sales, beating market estimates. The company's CEO also said that the group was "confident" that it would outperform the market and produce significant growth this year.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.56%, weighed by Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT), whose shares plummeted 2.52%. The specialty chemicals group announced earlier in the week that it will have to pay a £50 million fine in a lawsuit with a car parts maker in the U.S.
Financial stocks were also lower, as Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dropped 0.41% and Barclays (LON:BARC) declined 0.62%, while HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) retreated 0.61% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) lost 0.81%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) dropped 0.33% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) tumbled 1.82%, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) added 0.11% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) gained 0.80%.
Royal Mail (LON:RMG) was one of the top performers, with shares up 0.96%, closely followed by Intu Properties PLC (LON:INTUP), gaining 0.92%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.60% climb, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.74% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.79% gain.