European Markets Finished Mostly Lower As Investors Turn Cautious

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Friday's session in negative territory. The markets took an early cue from the mostly weak performance in Asia. The earnings picture brightened at the end of the trading week, from the negative environment of the previous session. However, investors were reluctant to take positions ahead of the upcoming FOMC meeting next week and the U.S. jobs report for July.

Eurozone finance ministers approved the payment of next aid tranche to Greece, at a conference call on Friday, after the nation met the conditions set by lenders.

The installment of EUR 2.5 billion will be disbursed on Monday subject to the completion of national approval procedures. The German parliament committee will meet on Monday to clear its portion of contribution.

Greece will also receive EUR 1.5 billion, the profits that the European Central Bank made from the sale of Greek debt.

The European Central Bank has room for further policy rate cuts and should consider offering more cheap loans to banks to help the economy exit recession, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Thursday.

The report warned that though collective actions taken by the euro area authorities have addressed important tail risks, the recovery remained "elusive" and the economy faced high risk of prolonged stagnation. According to IMF, more efforts are needed to address the twin challenges of reviving growth and creating jobs.

"Further policy rate cuts, including negative deposit rates, would help support demand and bring inflation back in line with the primary objective," the Washington-based lender said. However, the Fund maintained that the room for cuts was limited.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased by 0.13 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.21 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped by 0.65 percent, but the CAC 40 of France gained 0.32 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. fell by 0.50 percent and the SMI of Switzerland decreased by 0.87 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsche Boerse dropped by 3.65 percent. The exchange operator posted a lower second-quarter profit, as trading volumes declined and costs escalated due to expenses on growth initiatives and infrastructure.

ThyssenKrupp fell by 2.94 percent, after it was downgraded by Societe Generale,

Deutsche Wohnen rose by 3.21 percent and Krones gained 3.78 percent, following broker upgrades.

Credit Suisse raised European banks to ''Overweight'' from ''Benchmark.'' Commerzbank declined by 1.54 percent, but Deutsche Bank gained 0.37 percent. In Paris, BNP Paribas climbed by 0.82 percent. Societe Generale finished unchanged and Credit Agricole fell by 1.60 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland dropped by 2.99 percent and Lloyds Banking lost 0.60 percent in London.

In Paris, Kering and LVMH, which announced revenue figures, advanced by 3.86 percent and 3.57 percent respectively.

Lafarge climbed by 1.44 percent, after the cement giant reported financial results.

Vivendi gained 0.56 percent, after its video game unit Activision Blizzard agreed to buy back shares in an $8.2 billion deal.

Total rose by 0.15 percent, after its second-quarter adjusted profit fell.

Air France KLM decreased by 2.54 percent, after forecasting an operating profit for the year.

In London, British Sky Broadcasting Group dropped by 3.29 percent after reporting annual results.

Publisher Pearson surged by 6.15 percent, after reporting higher revenues.

Anglo American rose by 0.14 percent, after reporting first-half results.

BG Group climbed by 0.42 percent, after announcing financial results.

ABB fell by 1.11 percent in Zurich, following a broker downgrade.

Eurozone's leading economic index increased for the third successive month in June, adding to hopes that the recession-stricken economy would recover in the second half, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed Friday.

The leading economic index moved up 0.5 percent on a monthly basis to 107.5 in June, marking the third successive growth. In May and April, the index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.

An indicator of current economic situation in the euro area improved in July, helped by favorable results of surveys conducted among households and firms, data from the Bank of Italy showed Friday. The eurocoin indicator rose to -0.09 in July from -0.18 in June, offsetting the deterioration recorded in the previous two months. The easing of tensions in the financial markets also underpinned recovery, it said.

Germany's import prices declined for a sixth consecutive month in June, the latest figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed Friday. Import prices declined 2.2 percent year-on-year in June, after a 2.9 percent fall in May. The pace of decline, however, was the slowest in four months.

French consumer confidence improved to 82 in July from a revised reading of 79 a month ago, survey data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Economists had forecast the index to rise to 79 from June's initially estimated record low level 78.

Residential property prices in England and Wales increased in June after staying unchanged in the previous month, data from a survey by the Land Registry showed Friday. The house price index increased 0.6 percent on a monthly basis in June, after holding steady in May. In April, prices had recorded a 0.7 percent gain.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved to its best level in six years in the month of July, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday. The report showed that the consumer sentiment index for July was upwardly revised to 85.1 from the preliminary reading of 83.9. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to 84.0.