LONDON: European stock markets closed yesterday with mixed but mainly weaker results as disappointing Chinese economic data offset positive job numbers out of the United States, analysts said.
London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies gained 0.31 percent to 6,503.63 points while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 fell by a slight 0.03 percent to 7,984.29 points and the CAC 40 edged down by 0.10 percent to 3,836.27 points in Paris.
In Madrid the Ibex 35 was off by 0.85 percent and Milan’s FTSE Mib gave up 0.69 percent. The euro stood at $1.3016, up from $1.3004 late on Friday in New York. Gold prices eased to $1,579.00 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,581.75 Friday.
“Chinese inflation data contributes to the risk-off environment, at its 10-month high it sparkles concerns of an upcoming tightening that could put a break on Chinese growth, impacting demand from the world’s second largest economy,” Gekko Global Markets trader Anita Paluch noted.
At CMC Markets, Michael Hewson added that a “slower than expected pickup in economic activity set against a backdrop of rising prices could well make it difficult for Chinese authorities to be as proactive at stimulating growth as they would like in the coming months.”
Back in Europe meanwhile, Italy’s economy shrank by 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 from the previous one, data showed, confirming a previous estimate that underscored a deeper recession in the eurozone’s third largest economy.
The data came after the international ratings agency Fitch on Friday said it had downgraded Italy’s sovereign debt by one notch to “BBB+” from “A-“ and added that the outlook was negative.
In New York, US stocks were mixed but mainly stronger in midday trading on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.17 percent at 14,422.11, while the broader S&;P 500 had gained 0.12 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had slipped by a slight 0.05 percent.
On Friday, the Dow topped 14,400 points for the first time after the Labor Department reported the United States generated a net 236,000 new jobs in February, far more than expected.
The US unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of 7.7 percent. The report reinforced views that the US economy was now in a solid recovery, though analysts said that underlying figures and upcoming spending cuts meant the Federal Reserve was unlikely to take its foot off its monetary easing anytime soon.
In Asia, stock markets had also closed with mixed results, with Shanghai dipping on disappointing economic data that fuelled concerns about China’s economy.
Chinese inflation hit a 10-month high in February while growth in industrial production and retail sales slowed, official data showed, complicating policymakers’ efforts to boost recovery.
AFP
