European Markets Finished Mostly Lower On Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Friday's session with modest losses. The pull back was attributed to profit taking, after several days of gains fueled by optimism for a Greek solution.

German lawmakers on Friday gave their approval to open talks for a new bailout for Greece, a crucial backing for the controversial proposal that averted an imminent exit of Greece from the euro area. The EU also announced that everything was in place to begin negotiations for a fresh loan for the country.

The Bundestag passed the proposal with a clear majority of 439 votes in favor versus 119 against and 40 abstentions. An increasing number of lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's party had voiced dissent going into the vote.

The European Stability Mechanism Board of Governors also approved a decision to grant, in principle, stability support to Greece in the form of a loan program, following approvals from national parliaments. The basis for the Board of Governors' approval was the assessment by the institutions and the proposal by ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling, the ESM said in a statement.

In a press conference, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said that the 7.16 billion euro bridge-loan approved on Thursday will reach Greece by Monday. He also suggested that the new bailout program for the country would be ready by August. Further, he said the bailout talks will now take place in Athens.

The European Council on Friday approved a 7.16 billion euro bridge-loan for Greece under the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism. Eurozone finance ministers agreed to the same on Thursday.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that the interest rate hike decision will become clearer around the turn of the year.

"The decision as to when to start such a process of adjustment will likely come into sharper relief around the turn of this year," he said in a speech in Lincoln Cathedral late Thursday.

He observed that the path is much more important than the precise timing of the first rate increase. Shocks to the economy could easily adjust the timing and magnitude of rate increases.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased by 0.17 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.02 percent.

The DAX of Germany declined by 0.37 percent, but the CAC 40 of France rose by 0.06 percent. The FTSE of the U.K. fell by 0.31 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.14 percent.

In Frankfurt, RWE dropped by 1.54 percent and E.ON lost 1.39 percent.

In Paris, Alcatel-Lucent surged by 3.19 percent and Orange gained 1.04 percent.

LVMH was another notable gainer, with an increase of 2.87 percent.

In London, AstraZeneca declined by 0.50 percent. The drug-maker said it has completed its agreement with Swiss specialty pharma firm Tillotts Pharma AG, for the divestment of global rights, outside the US, to gastroenterology drug Entocort (budesonide).

Marks & Spencer lost 1.19 percent. The retailer said John Dixon, Executive Director, General Merchandise, has decided to leave the business to pursue career opportunities outside of the company.

Meanwhile, 888 Holdings surged by 8.59 percent after reporting an 898 million pounds deal to acquire Bwin.party.

Ericsson climbed by 3.43 percent in Stockholm. The company reported second-quarter results today.

Electrolux dipped by 0.24 percent, after reporting a profit for the second quarter.

Volvo, which reported second-quarter results, dropped by 6.33 percent.

Givaudan gained 3.98 percent in Zurich, after its profit for the first half of the year rose.

Fortum Oyj declined by 6.86 percent in Helsinki. The company reported second-quarter results today.

Eurozone construction output increased in May after falling in the previous month, figures from Eurostat showed Friday. Construction output climbed 0.3 percent month-over-month in May, reversing a 0.2 percent decrease in April, which was revised from a 0.3 percent hike reported earlier.

The leading economic index in the UK, which measures the future economic activity, decreased in May, the results of a survey by the Conference Board showed Thursday. The Conference Board leading economic index fell 0.4 percent in May, following a 0.3 percent climb in April.

Partly reflecting another notable increase in energy prices, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer prices rose in line with economist estimates in the month of June. The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.4 percent increase in May. The continued increase in prices matched economist estimates.

In another upbeat sign for the housing market, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing significant increases in both housing starts and building permits in the month of June. The report said housing starts jumped 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.174 million in June from the revised May estimate of 1.069 million.

Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.125 million from the 1.036 million originally reported for the previous month.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, surged up 7.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.343 million in June from the revised May rate of 1.125 million. Economists had expected building permits to rise to an annual rate of 1.178 million from the 1.275 million originally reported for the previous month.

After reporting a substantial improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the previous month, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that consumer sentiment pulled back in the month of July. The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for July came in at 93.3, down from the final June reading of 96.1. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 96.0.