LONDON: Upbeat eurozone data helped boost the euro yesterday but top European stock markets mostly ended in the red, dragged down by losses on Wall Street.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index ended the day flat at 6,730.73 points, but Frankfurt’s DAX 30 dipped 0.08 percent to 9,428 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.47 percent to 4,227.54 points.
The FTSE and DAX had spent most of the afternoon in positive territory after survey data showed the eurozone making a continuing, if uneven, economic recovery.
The Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by Markit Economics, for both services and manufacturing activity, rose to 52.1 points in December from 51.7 in November. The reading was in line with the first flash estimate and held above the key 50-points boom-or-bust line.
Spain hitting a 77-month-high composite reading of 53.9 helped push the IBEX 35 up 0.92 percent to 9,888.5 points. However, France registered ongoing contraction in December, hitting a 7-month low composite score of 47.3.
European stocks pulled back after Wall Street fell after data showed activity in the nation’s service sector slowed in December outweighed factory orders in November hitting a 22-year high.
In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.25 percent to 16,428.67 points. The broad-based S&P 500 gave up 0.38 percent to 1,824.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.56 percent to 4,108.89.
Later this week, investors will switch attention to interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. Both institutions are widely expected to leave their benchmark interest rates at record-lows of 0.50 percent and 0.25 percent respectively.
And on Friday, markets will focus on the key US non-farm payrolls data for the latest update on the health of the world’s biggest economy.
“Trading volumes should pick up significantly this week, as traders return to their desks following the festive period and the number of potential catalysts also rises substantially,” said analyst Craig Erlam at traders Alpari.
Asian stock markets fell on the region’s first full day of trading in 2014, with Tokyo tumbling as the dollar and euro retreated from five-year highs against the yen.
Tokyo stocks sank 2.35 percent, Sydney lost 0.47 percent and Shanghai gave up 1.80 percent, while Hong Kong shed 0.58 percent in value.
Japan’s Nikkei started the year with heavy losses after surging 57 percent in 2013, with profit-taking adding to downward pressure, while the yen rebounded from recent lows. The dollar and euro last week hit highs against the yen not seen since October 2008, but they fell Friday in thin trade as many dealers stayed away after the holiday season.
The European single currency climbed to $1.3639 from $1.3586 late in New York on Friday. The dollar eased to 104.38 yen against 104.85 yen. The euro rose to 83.10 pence from 82.75 pence on Friday. The British pound dipped to $1.6411 from $1.6413. Gold prices firmed to $1,246.25 an ounce from $1,234.50 on Friday on the London Bullion Market. AFP
