European Markets Finish With Mild Gains On Friday

The major European stock markets shook off early weakness on Friday, gradually picking up steam as the session progressed before finishing slightly higher.

The early lack of direction was dictated by nervousness over the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant coronavirus and uncertainty about government policy in China.

But the markets turned higher after U.S. employment data came in stronger than expected, reinforcing the global economic recovery.

For the day, Germany’s DAX added 16.78 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 15,761.45, London’s FTSE rose just 2.52 points or 0.04 percent to close at 7,122.95 and the CAC 40 in France advanced 35.77 points or 0.53 percent to end at 6,816.96.

In Germany, MERCK plummeted 4.33 percent, while Allianz surged 2.51 percent, Bayer soared 2.13 percent, adidas dropped 1.72 percent, Deutsche Bank spiked 1.43 percent, Daimler jumped 0.82 percent, Deutsche Telekom climbed 0.79 percent, Deutsche Borse added 0.53 percent, Infineon Technologies lost 0.34 percent, Deutsche Post fell 0.33 percent and E.ON was up 0.12 percent.

In London, Experian tumbled 3.97 percent, while Prudential spiked 2.66 percent, Rentokil Initial skidded 2.12 percent, Rightmove dropped 1.87 percent, Rolls-Royce jumped 1.57 percent, Scottish Mortgage sank 1.54 percent, Vodafone advanced 1.02 percent, Tesco added 0.56 percent, British American Tobacco fell 0.26 percent and Royal Dutch Shell rose 0.18 percent.

In France, Atos skyrocketed10.87 percent, while BNP Paribas surged 3.03 percent, Credit Agricole soared 2.92 percent, Societe Generale spiked 1.47 percent, Carrefour advanced 0.65 percent, Danone dropped 0.48 percent, Accor shed 0.44 percent, ENGIE rose 0.24 percent, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain was up 0.14 percent and Schneider Electric eased 0.04 percent.

In economic news, France’s private payroll employment grew for a second straight quarter in the three months to June, the statistical office INSEE said Friday. In the second quarter, 239,500 net job creations were recorded versus 91,400 jobs in the previous quarter. Overall, by mid-2021, private payroll employment returned to its pre-crisis level at the end of 2019, INSEE said.

Germany’s industrial production unexpectedly declined in June as supply shortages weighed on the manufacturing sector, Destatis revealed on Friday. Industrial output dropped 1.3 percent in June from May, when production was down by revised 0.8 percent. Economists had forecast production to grow 0.5 percent in June.

France’s trade deficit narrowed in June from a nine-month high, data from the customs office showed on Friday. The trade deficit declined to EUR 5.82 billion in June from EUR 6.58 billion in May. In the same period last year, the deficit was EUR 7.84 billion. Also, the Bank of France said that the current account deficit decreased by EUR 1.8 billion to EUR 0.5 billion in June.

UK house price inflation slowed for a second month in a row in July, survey data from the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax showed Friday. The house price index rose 7.6 percent year-on-year following an 8.7 percent increase in June. The latest increase was the smallest since March.

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