LONDON: European stock markets fell and the euro dropped against the dollar yesterday as traders digested record high eurozone unemployment data following weak US numbers, analysts said.
London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares shed 1.11 percent to 6,583.09 points. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index fell 0.61 percent to 8,348.84 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 1.19 percent to 3,948.59 points. Madrid gave up 1.37 percent and Milan slumped 0.79 percent.
In foreign exchange trading, the euro slipped to $1.2965 from $1.3043 late in New York on Thursday. The dollar gained to 100.95 yen from 100.74 yen on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold inched down to $1,394.50 an ounce from $1,413.50 on Thursday.
The drop in European share prices “is in part associated with the eurozone unemployment data”, said Joshua Mahony, research analyst at Alpari traders. “On the whole this portrays a region which continues to worsen and is unlikely to improve anytime soon,” he added.
“European markets have taken a leg lower... as traders look to scale back risk heading into the month’s end, with the central bank policy picture still unclear,” Matt Basi, head of UK sales trading at CMC Markets, said on Friday.
US stocks were mixed in early trade amid a flurry of indicators, with a slowdown in consumer spending partly offset by a surge in the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.19 percent, the broad-based S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite rose 0.16 percent.
Asian stock markets closed mixed earlier in the day, with Tokyo clawing back some ground after plunging in the previous session as tepid US data eased concerns that the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its aggressive stimulus programme.
In company news, the price of shares in French industrial gases group Air Liquide rose by 1.41 percent to 99.35 euros on a recommendation by brokers JPMorgan Cazenove.
AFP
