by Pauline Foret

(Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Friday, with the exception of Britain’s FTSE index, after the publication of several important indicators in the United States and the United Kingdom.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.35% at 7,449.70 points and the German Dax up 0.80%. The British Footsie, meanwhile, posted a drop of 0.43%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.67%, the FTSEurofirst 300 advanced 0.26% and the Stoxx 600 grew 0.28%.

Optimism is widespread in global markets after encouraging retail sales data from the US and UK suggested that both countries are doing relatively well in economic terms.

VALUES

Bayer jumped 9% on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Friday, buoyed by a recent legal victory in the United States in its battle linked to its Roundup weedkiller.

UBS gained 1.3% after the Swiss bank said it planned to liquidate a $2 billion (€1.82 billion) real estate investment fund it acquired from its acquisition of Credit Suisse.

Bavarian Nordics is soaring 20% ​​on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange, reaching a 50% increase since the start of the week, as orders for its monkeypox vaccine have surged since the World Health Organization declared a global state of emergency.

A WALL STREET

On Wall Street, indices stabilized after opening slightly, helped by the publication of encouraging figures on household morale by the University of Michigan.

The Dow Jones posted a slight loss of 0.01%, compared to 0.03% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.01% for the Nasdaq.

On the stock market, Pfizer fell 2.2% after its combined flu and COVID-19 vaccine missed one of its main targets in a late-stage trial.

B. Riley Financial’s shares rose 16.17% by 1545 GMT after opening up 26.17% as its co-CEO and Chairman Bryant Riley said he plans to acquire the investment bank for $212 million.

TODAY’S INDICATORS

In the United States, the publication of two indicators shook the markets somewhat.

Mixed home construction figures somewhat dampened optimism from the release of retail sales figures, causing Wall Street to open less positive than expected.

Consumer sentiment figures released by the University of Michigan, on the other hand, accelerated more than expected, which encouraged the main US indices.

In the UK, official data on Friday showed that retail sales rose by 0.5% in line with expectations.

CHANGES

The dollar lost 0.22% against a basket of benchmark currencies, weakened by disappointing U.S. housing data, as investors looked at economic data to assess the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.

The euro gained 0.2% to $1.0993, while sterling lost 0.37% against the dollar and 0.12% against the euro, as rising UK retail sales suggested some stability in the country’s economy.

RATE

Faced with the possibility of a Fed rate cut in September, yields are falling slightly.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell 0.3 basis points to 3.9226%, compared with a rise of 0.3 basis points to 4.1042% for the two-year yield.

The German Bund yield fell 0.3 basis points to 2.255%, compared with 0.1 basis points for the two-year yield.

OIL

Oil prices fell on Friday and are on track to end a week marked by back-to-back declines as a string of negative July data from China overshadowed the impact of geopolitical risks.

Brent lost 1.46% to $79.86 per barrel, while American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 1.66% to $76.86.

TO BE CONTINUED next week:

The Jackson Hole symposium, which brings together central bankers from around the world, opens next Thursday. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to speak, with investors expecting a 25-bp rate cut in September.

On Wall Street, Lowe’s and Target will report second-quarter results on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. In Europe, Swiss Re will report results on Thursday.

(Some data may be slightly out of date)

(Written by Pauline Foret, edited by Kate Entringer)

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