Traders work at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange yesterday. The DAX 30 index shed 0.66% to 8,987.80 points in yesterday’s trading.
AFP/London
Europe’s main stock markets pulled back yesterday on concerns over New York’s first Ebola case and the outlook for the eurozone.
London’s FTSE 100 index shed 0.47% to 6,388.73 points after data showed British economic growth slowed to 0.7% in the third quarter after 0.9% expansion in the second.
In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.69% to 4,128.90 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index shed 0.66% to 8,987.80 points.
“European equity markets extended losses in the last session of the week as risk appetite was limited following renewed concerns about eurozone’s economic stability and future prospects,” said analyst Myrto Sokou at Sucden Research.
She pointed to comments by ECB chief Mario Draghi at the EU summit in Brussels that states needed to make efforts to avoid the eurozone relapsing into recession.
Shares in major banks climbed however as investors grew confident that their actions over the previous months to plug holes in their balance sheets meant there would be few nasty surprises when the European Central Bank (ECB) announces tomorrow the results of an unprecedented health check of eurozone banks.
These tests are one of the main reforms after the eurozone debt crisis to reduce the risks of a repetition of crisis in parts of the banking system.
In Paris, French luxury products group Kering topped the CAC 40 fallers board, sinking 5.1% to €145.70.
Kering posted a rise third-quarter sales, but investors focused on falling revenues at its high-end brand Gucci.
US stocks pushed upwards as strong earnings from UPS and others offset disappointing results from Amazon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.56% to stand at 16,771.09 points in midday trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.46% to 1,959.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.43% to 4,471.87 points.
Amazon shares sank 6.9% as its third-quarter loss rose ten-fold to $437mn due to the costs of product launches.
In foreign exchange deals in London, the euro climbed to $1.2673 from $1.2647 late in New York on Thursday.
The European single currency slid to 78.74 British pence from 78.88 pence. The British pound rose to $1.6094 from $1.6032 on Thursday.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold was steady at $1,232.75 an ounce.
Russia’s rouble slumped to a new all-time low of more than 53 to the euro as the economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis and lower oil prices caused the finance minister to call for a “back-up” 2015-2017 budget.
The rouble also slid against the dollar amid speculation swirling that Standard and Poor’s could cut its rating for Russia to a “speculative” level. The agency however affirmed Moscow’s “BBB-” rating, although it kept it on negative outlook.
