European close: Mixed finish for bourses
30 Jul 2010
Bourses were mixed at trading's close after rallying following disappointment at US GDP data.
US gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter was disappointing. Inflation adjusted and seasonally adjusted gross domestic product rose at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the second quarter, a significant slow-down from the 3.7% annualised gain in the first quarter.
The second quarter figures was only marginally below market expectations, but had repercussions across the pond here in the UK, pushing prices lower. Mainland European bourses were in the blue at the close, but not London's leading share index.
Across the markets, the Dax in Frankfurt was 13 points higher at 6,147, with the Cac in Paris down 8 points at 3,643. The Swiss market closed down 17 points at 6,200.
French telecom equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent climbed despite swinging to a second-quarter net loss. The group also confirmed its full-year targets.
EADS saw first-half net profit halve, but shares in the defence company were in demand after it raised its earnings forecast for the full year.
Power generator EDF reported a 47% drop in first- half profit and announced the sale of round 170000 miles of electrical network covering London, the South East and eastern England in a deal worth £5.8bn to a consortium headed by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.
Li Ka-Shing and two of the companies in his empire, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI) and Hongkong Electric, won an auction for the three power distribution grids and private power networks.
HeidelbergCement posted better than expected sales in the quarter ended 30 June of €3.3bn.
Oil firm Total's second-quarter profit jumped 43% to €3.1bn, helped by higher oil prices.
The unemployment rate stayed at 10% in June across the 16 countries that use the euro, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported today.
In the whole EU, unemployment was also steady at 9.6%. The highest rates of unemployment were seen in Spain and Latvia, where more than 20% of citizens are out of work, and the lowest rates were seen in Austria (3.9%) and the Netherlands (4.4%).
