A man walks in front of a Peugeot automobile dealership in Paris yesterday. Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen fell 12.09% to €9.34 yesterday, making for a 23% fall in just four days.

AFP/London

European stock markets posted narrow losses yesterday as bargain-hunting helped to offset steep falls at French car giant Peugeot and insurer RSA, traders said.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day down 0.08% at 6,439.96 points, while Frankfurt’s DAX 30 slid 0.12% to 9,006.46 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.23% to 4,059.71 points. Milan and Madrid ended flat.

With little new data to sift yesterday, trading was flat with some investors bargain-hunting after Paris and Frankfurt have shed more than 4% from recent highs and London more than 3%.

European indices fell for most of the week with traders expecting the US Federal Reserve to soon scale back its huge stimulus programme. 

Global equities have seen a broad sell-off over the past four days after positive economic numbers — including falling unemployment and strong economic growth figures — have strengthened the argument for a December cut to the Fed’s asset-purchasing.

The Fed concludes its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday.

European stocks have been shaken in recent days also by official data that suggests the eurozone recovery may be stalling.

In foreign exchange yesterday, the euro fell to $1.3731 from $1.3752 late in New York on Thursday.

The dollar hit a 5-year high of ¥103.92 during Asian trading, before settling back to 103.26, down from 103.36 on Thursday.

The British pound slid to €1.1866 and $1.6293.

Gold prices climbed to $1,232 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1,225.25 on Thursday.

Shares in French auto company Peugeot plummeted yesterday after auto giant GM said it was selling its stake amid talk of a huge capital shake-up that could bring in the French state.

PSA Peugeot Citroen tumbled 12.09% to €9.34 after already plunging 7.6% on Thursday.

That dive came after loss-making Peugeot confirmed it is in talks with China’s state-owned Dongfeng about a shareholder tie-up.

In London, insurer RSA slumped 7.2% to 92.5 pence.

“RSA has shocked the FTSE... with the news that its CEO Simon Lee has resigned,” said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at traders IG.

“This was accompanied by a fresh profit-warning for the UK-based insurance company. Issues surrounding its Irish arm continue to drag on the company’s performance.”

US stocks were steady Friday after the US House of Representatives approved a two-year budget deal that would avert another government shutdown.

In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.11% to 15,756.04 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.05% to 1,774.68, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.06% to 4,000.85.