European equities dip as oil steadies

Europe's main stock markets retreated Friday following mixed economic data, while oil prices stabilized and the tech-rich Nasdaq (Frankfurt: 813516 - news) advanced on Wall Street.

Bourses in both Paris and Frankfurt dipped after a report from data monitoring company IHS Markit (Stuttgart: A1139A - news) showed Eurozone private sector business activity slowed sharply in June while staying in expansion mode.

London also ended modestly lower in a session that marked the one-year anniversary of Britain's historic vote to exit the EU.

On Friday, European leaders assessed a proposal from British Prime Minister Theresa May concerning the rights of EU citizens in Britain.

"It was a good start, but also not yet a breakthrough," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's most powerful leader, adding that there was still a "long way to go."

US stocks ended mostly higher after leading technology companies such as Microsoft (Euronext: MSF.NX - news) and Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) won one percent or more to boost the Nasdaq 0.5 percent.

Analysts said the second straight increase in oil prices lifted broader market sentiment after petroleum prices sank to multi-month lows earlier in the week. But worries about excess supply were expected to continue to pressure oil prices.

"Since the same old worries about over-supply persist the bearish sentiment will hang around for some time," said David Madden, analyst with CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX.L - news) .

Large US retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores, Home Depot (Swiss: HD-USD.SW - news) and Costco Wholesale, tumbled about one percent or more after a disappointing earnings report by Bed Bath & Beyond (NasdaqGS: BBBY - news) rekindled worries about the sector's prospects with the rise of e-commerce.

A note from Morningstar (NasdaqGS: MORN - news) said Bed Bath & Beyond's earnings would be challenged by "ongoing pricing pressure and secularly slower footfalls expected across the brick-and-mortar landscape" and predicted that rivals like Amazon and Wayfair (NYSE: W - news) would "continue to chip away at Bed Bath's market share, making pricing gains nearly impossible."

- Key figures around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 21,394.76 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 2,438.30 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.5 percent at 6,265.25 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,424.13 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,266.12 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.5 percent at 12,733.41 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,543.68

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 20,132.67 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 25,670.05 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,157.87 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1197 from $1.1152 at 2100 GMT on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2723 from $1.2684

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 111.29 yen from 111.30 yen

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 32 cents at $45.54 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 27 cents at $43.01 per barrel

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Source: AFP