European stocks close mixed on gold, uneven US earnings

A trader reacts as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. In the noon deals on Wall Street, US stocks traded higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.21%, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.32% and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.39%.

AFP/London

European stocks suffered mixed fortunes yesterday with high gold prices offering some support while a string of uneven US earnings fuelled investor caution over economic activity, dealers said.

London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.11% to end at 6,623.17 points, while Frankfurt’s Dax 30 finished flat at 8,331.06 points and the Cac 40 in Paris added 0.37% to close at 3,939.92 points.

Similarly, stocks on Madrid’s Bourse saw a slight increase of 0.29% to finish at 7,966 points.

“On a day fairly light on economic data Europe’s markets have traded in a somewhat mixed fashion,” CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson said.

“With markets trading at multi-week highs investors appear to be adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach after last week’s big misses from Google and Microsoft in the US caused markets to question the sustainability of the recent rally in the context of future earnings growth potential.”

Gold prices rebounded to $1,327 an ounce, propelled by speculative buying. That compared with $1,295.75 late on Friday on the London Bullion Market.

Precious metals group Fresnillo gained 3.4% to 1,064 pence on London’s FTSE 100 index and Randgold rallied 5.57% to 4,777 pence.

“A sharp rally in gold prices ... provides European share markets, particularly precious metal stocks, with a degree of support,” said trader Ishaq Siddiqi at trading firm ETX Capital.

In terms of US earnings, results proved to be a mixed bag with fast-food giant McDonald’s releasing disappointing second-quarter numbers and a mediocre outlook, while oil services giant Halliburton narrowly topped expectations.

Other major companies reporting this week include Amazon, Apple, Boeing, General Motors and Caterpillar.

In noon deals on Wall Street, US stocks traded higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.21%, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.32% and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.39%.

In foreign exchange market activity on Monday, the European single currency firmed to $1.3195 from $1.3139 late in New York on Friday.

The dollar slipped to 99.56 yen compared to 100.35, while sterling edged up to $1.5365 from $1.5258.