FRANKFURT, July 18 — European markets closed mostly weak on Friday, with many of them languishing in negative territory almost right through the day’s session, as worries about tensions in West Asia pushed up oil prices, raising concerns about inflation and interest rates, dpa-AFX reported.
Tech stocks drifted lower as concerns over the sector resurfaced amid elevated artificial intelligence (AI) spending and stretched valuations
Oil prices climbed higher as Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region following a fresh wave of strikes by the United States (US) against Iran amid a row over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.34 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 closed lower by 0.34 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively. The UK market’s FTSE 100 ended 0.27 per cent up, while Switzerland’s SMI climbed 0.54 per cent.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, and Sweden closed weak.
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Portugal ended higher.
In the UK market, National Grid climbed 3.3 per cent. British American Tobacco, Severn Trent, BAE Systems, SSE, Shell, Kingfisher, BT Group, Imperial Brands, Associated British Foods, Admiral Group, Aviva, and Tritax Big Box REIT gained 2.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent.
Burberry Group dropped nearly 6.5 per cent. The luxury fashion house’s recovery continued in the second-quarter even as European and West Asia sales fell 3.0 per cent amid the Iran war.
Scottish Mortgage, AutoTrader Group, Polar Capital Technology Trust, Antofagasta, St. James’s Place, 3i Group, Anglo American Plc, Pershing Square Holdings, and GSK lost 2.0 per cent to 3.6 per cent.
Barclays, Informa, Persimmon, IHG, LSEG, and Standard Chartered also ended notably lower.
In the German market, Rheinmetall, E.ON, Deutsche Telekom and Bayer gained 1.5 per cent to 2.3 per cent. Hannover RE moved higher by 1.2 per cent, while Allianz and RWE posted moderate gains.
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank ended down by about 3.1 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively. Siemens, Infineon, Deutsche Börse, MTU Aero Engines, Merck, Porsche Automobil Holding, and Adidas lost 1.0 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
In the French market, Orange climbed about 2.3 per cent. Carrefour, Thales, TotalEnergies, Eurofins Scientific, Edenred, and Teleperformance gained 1.0 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
STMicroelectronics shed 4.7 per cent. Publicis Groupe ended down 4.0 per cent. Renault, Stellantis, Dassault Systèmes, Vinci, Legrand, EssilorLuxottica, LVMH, Société Générale, Hermes International, Pernod Ricard, and Kering lost 1.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent.
In economic news, eurozone inflation slowed to a three-month low in June, Eurostat confirmed today. Inflation softened to 2.8 per cent from 3.2 per cent in May. This was the lowest rate since March and matched the flash estimate released on July 1.
Similarly, core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco eased to 2.4 per cent, in line with estimate, from 2.6 per cent in the prior month.
On a monthly basis, the harmonised index of consumer prices edged down 0.1 per cent in June.
Data from the European Central Bank showed the euro area current account surplus rose to €25 billion in May from €17 billion in the previous month. In the same period last year, the surplus was €26 billion.
In the twelve months to May, the current account surplus totalled €272 billion or 1.7 per cent of GDP, down from €318 billion or 2.0 per cent a year earlier.
