Stocks fluctuate as European currencies slide
Gold dropped on Friday, pressed by a rebound in the value of the dollar, while European shares struggled to hold on main markets, moving mixed since early trading. Oil futures slightly retreated, chipping a fraction of the gains from the past week. Peter Praet, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, told La Repubblica that policymakers still count on lowering rates further into negative territory to counter a potential negative shock in the market.
The DAX fell 0.13%% at 10:53 a.m. CET. RWE stood out as the biggest gainer, rallying 2.42%, while other gainers advanced less than 1%. Munich re was on the other side of the chart, losing 1.6%. Right behind it was Deutsche Börse, down 1%. FTSE 100 added 0.13% at 10:49 a.m. CET, staying above zero mostly due to 3.49% gain in Standard Chartered, while the second tier on the green side, namely Whitbread and Sports Direct, held around 3% up. On the other side, Berkeley Group sunk 2.9% and Mondi lost 2.3%. Fresnillo and Randgold shed 1.6% each, parallel to the fall in the value of gold.
The CAC was flat at 10:55 a.m. CET. Kering led the winning pack with an advance of 2.3%. Industrial companies ArcelorMittal and Lafarge dropped the most, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. The Swiss SMI index moved 0.28% lower at 10:47 a.m. CET. The biggest losers were Actelion, 2% down, and Givaudan and Roche, dropping 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively. UBS Group increased 0.43% after it said chief executive Sergio Ermotti received 14.3 million francs in compensation last year, over three million more than in 2014.
Italian FTSE MIB added 0.18% at 10:44 a.m. CET. Salvatore Ferragamo jumped 2.4%, followed by Azimut, Exor and Saipem, all 2% in the green. Generali insurance gave the most friction, dropping 2.2% after saying the otherwise very strong quarterly profits were hit by a one-off writedown and market instability. Yesterday the company appointed Philippe Donnet as the chief executive, but he will remain in Vivendi's board for the time being. Banco Popolare rebounded to trade 1.04% in positive territory and Banca Popolare di Milano was flat. The two banks, which plan a merger, were warned by ECB to meet strict capital requirements for the deal, which initially sent their shares under.
Gold was 0.3% in the red, at 10:59 a.m. CET changing hands for $1,255.23 per ounce. The dollar rose 0.4% compared to the euro, 0.29% versus the pound and 0.29% against the franc.