European Stocks Fail To Hold Gains, Close On Mixed Note

European markets ended on a mixed note on Friday despite spending much of the day’s session in positive territory, with investors reacting to a slew of corporate earnings reports, economic data and updates on vaccination drive.

Optimism about additional U.S. fiscal stimulus, momentum in vaccination and reports showing a drop in new coronavirus cases lifted stock prices, while profit taking wiped off gains towards the closing minutes.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended flat. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended down 0.22%, Germany’s DAX edged down 0.03% and France’s CAC 40 surged up 0.9%, while Switzerland’s SMI tumbled 0.97%.

The CAC 40 gained about 4.65% in the week, the FTSE 100 advanced 1.4% and the DAX posted a gain of 4.6%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Spain moved higher.

Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Turkey ended weak. Ireland closed flat.

In the UK market, Whitbread, Glencore, Natwest Group, British Land, Pershing Square, Fresnillo, Barratt Developments, Royal Dutch Shell, Burberry Group, Lloyds Banking, IAG and JD Sports Fashion ended stronger by 2 to 5.3%.

On the other hand, Johnson Matthey, Experian, DCC, National Grid, Aviva, Ashtead Group, Pennon Group and Unilever ended lower by 2 to 4.3%.

In the French market, Vinci gained nearly 6% after the company said it expects contracting business to achieve growth in business levels and earnings.

Renault, Accor, Societe Generale, LOreal, Essilor, Carrefour, Michelin, Publicis Groupe, ArcelorMittal, Technip and Credit Agricole ended sharply higher.

BNP Paribas climbed 2.6% after the company reported upbeat earnings and announced a dividend of pay out of 1.11 euros per share.

Sanofi shares moved up sharply after the company said it expects higher earnings in the current year.

In the German market, Bayer, Deutsche Post, Beiersdorf, Daimler, Infineon Technologies, Adidas, Fresenius and Linde posted strong gains, while Siemens, SAP, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Wohnen slid 1 to 2%.

In economic news, German factory orders were down 1.9% month-on-month in December, reversing a 2.7% rise in November, data from Destatis revealed.

In the U.K., house prices fell 0.3% in January from a month earlier as the market appeared to lose momentum following a stimulus-fueled surge last year, according to mortgage lender Halifax.

France’s current account deficit narrowed in the fourth quarter, thanks to a smaller shortfall in non-energy goods, the Bank of France said Friday. The current account deficit halved to EUR 7.5 billion from EUR 13.2 billion in the third quarter.

French payroll employment declined only moderately in the fourth quarter despite the health crisis and second lockdown after a sharp rebound in the summer, flash data from the statistical office Insee showed.

Private payroll employment dropped 0.2%, or 39,600 in the fourth quarter. Payroll employment remained below its pre-crisis level. Over the whole year of 2020, payroll employment decreased 1.8 percent, or 360,500, after five years of successive increases.