By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks finished flat Friday,
and ended with losses for the week, during which concerns about
euro-zone growth were underscored.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose less than 1 point at 341.97. It
fell by 1.8% for the week, the biggest weekly pullback since
mid-April, according to FactSet data.
A run of lackluster data from the euro zone continued Friday
with France's government saying growth in gross domestic product
stalled in the first quarter and inflation in Spain was flat this
month, highlighting worries about the risk of deflation.
Meanwhile, a European Commission survey found there was a
decline in confidence in the region among businesses and households
in June. The dampened sentiment prevailed even as the European
Central Bank this month launched measures aimed at staving off
sharply low levels of inflation and reviving economic growth. The
commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator fell to 102.0 from 102.6
in May, falling short of the expected rise to 103.0 in a Wall
Street Journal poll of economists.
The ECB will issue its next policy statement on Thursday.
Among movers, British housing stocks extended gains after the
Bank of England on Thursday outlined measures aimed at cooling the
U.K.'s housing boom. Developer Taylor Wimpey PLC rose 3.6% and
Barratt Developments PLC tacked on 3.2%. The U.K.'s benchmark FTSE
100 index ended up 0.3% to 6,757.77.
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC shares picked up 2.2% after a Reuters
report that Airbus Group is near a decision to upgrade its A330
aircraft with engines made by Rolls-Royce.
Ophir Energy dropped 5.4% following a ratings downgrade to
neutral from buy at UBS. The British oil exploration company on
Thursday issued a disappointing update about a dry well in offshore
Gabon.
Shares of Barclays PLC (BCS) pared their gain to 0.5%. They
dropped Thursday by 6.5% to a 19-month low on U.S. legal problems.
Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins said in a staff memo
Thursday that the bank will conduct an internal probe following
accusations of fraud in a lawsuit filed by the New York Attorney
General, according to reports.
Late Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that major
brokers are closing their connections to a dark pool run by
Barclays in the wake of the lawsuit, according to people familiar
with the matter.
In Paris, France's CAC 40 index fell 0.1% to 4,436.98, and
Germany's DAX 30 equity index ended up 0.1% at 9,815.17.
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