EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Struggle To Break Grip Of Stronger Euro
July 21 2017 - 5:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Stoxx 600 on course for weekly loss
European stocks searched for firm direction Friday, held in
check by strength in the euro, as the flow of corporate earnings
results failed to provide a lift.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.1% at 384.42, but has been dipping
in and out of positive territory throughout the session.
"The strength of the euro does appear to be acting as a bit of a
headwind for European stocks as they look to close the week sharply
lower, in contrast to the performance of U.K. and U.S. stocks this
week," wrote CMC Markets' chief market analyst Michael Hewson on
Friday.
The Stoxx 600 was on track for a weekly decline of 0.7%, while
London's FTSE 100 looks set for a rise
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-edges-up-reaches-for-a-weekly-win-2017-07-21)
of 1.6% for the week.
Euphoric euro: At the same time, the euro was trading at a
two-year high against the dollar, buying $1.1644. A stronger euro
can put pressure on sales to overseas customers by European
exporters, and hurt shares of those companies.
The shared currency was holding well above the $1.16 handle
captured on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario
Draghi said the central bank will continue its pace of bond buying
until December. He said policy makers will discuss the program in
the "autumn," but didn't say whether that meant the ECB's September
policy meeting.
Read:Nobody told the euro that Mario Draghi was dovish
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nobody-told-the-euro-that-mario-draghi-was-dovish-2017-07-20)
"There was nothing in the overall narrative [from Draghi] that
came across as remotely hawkish," said Hewson. "Sadly for him the
currency markets weren't buying it, and the euro, after initially
dipping, roared back in the afternoon session."
Stock movers: Investors had plenty of corporate financial
updates to sort through on Friday.
Shares of Philips Lighting NV (LIGHT.AE) tumbled 7.1% after the
Dutch company posted a decline in second-quarter sales to 1.70
billion euros and a fall in comparable sales. Profit, however, was
higher.
Meanwhile, Valeo SA shares (FR.FR) dropped 4.1% as the French
car-parts manufacturer's first-half sales increased to EUR9.46
billion, but still fell short of expectations of EUR9.56 billion
from a Reuters survey of analysts.
On the upside, Vodafone (VOD.LN) picked up 1.4% after the mobile
phone services provider reiterated its earnings outlook for the
full year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vodafone-revenue-drops-on-forex-effects-2017-07-21).
Individual indexes: The U.K.'s FTSE 100 outperformed regional
benchmarks by rising 0.4% to 7,514.81
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-edges-up-reaches-for-a-weekly-win-2017-07-21).
France's CAC 40 index flipped between small gains and losses,
recently logging a rise of 0.1% at 5,203.95.
In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index , which is heavily weighted by
exporters, edged up 0.1% to 12,453.11.
Spain's IBEX 35 fell 0.2% to 10,548, and Italy's FTSE MIB was
little changed at 21,433.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 21, 2017 05:38 ET (09:38 GMT)
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