European Markets Finished Mostly Lower Thursday

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Thursday's session in negative territory. The markets retreated from nearly 6 year highs, following 4 consecutive sessions of gains. Investors had their first opportunity to react to the U.S. Beige Book, which was released late Wednesday, and digested a large number of U.S. economic reports. Weakness in early U.S. trade and corporate earnings reports also contributed to the decline in Europe.

The United States economy expanded at a moderate pace in the final weeks of 2013, according to the Federal Reserve's collection of anecdotal information known as the Beige Book.

Two-thirds of the 12 districts reported increases in hiring, with most districts expecting the "more of the same" into the new year.

Three-quarters of the Districts indicated that retail activity had increased since the last Beige Book report. All Districts reported year-over-year increases in manufacturing activity.

The global growth momentum should strengthen further in 2014, largely due to improvements in advanced economies, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday.

"The world economy had avoided a worst case scenario, thanks to the efforts of global policymakers over the past half decade," she said during remarks at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.

At the same time, she warned about underlying risks to global economic outlook. "The global growth is still too low, too fragile, and too uneven," Lagarde said. "It is not enough to create the jobs for the more than 200 million people around the world who need them."

Eurozone's falling domestic demand and softening exports, as the November trade data showed, suggest that the external sector continues to struggle against the strong euro, adding pressure on the ECB to take further policy action in the coming months, Paul Hollingsworth, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Germany's economy is set to expand at least 2 percent this year, Ulrich Grillo, chief of the Federation of German Industry (BDI) said on Thursday. The easing pressures in the global economy and the gradual exit of the euro area from a recession are all helpful for German exports, Grillo said. Further, he noted that higher wages, low inflation expectations and good labor market prospects bode well for the economy.

The European Parliament on Thursday approved the appointment of Germany's Sabine Lautenschlaeger to the European Central Bank's Executive Board. In a plenary session in Strasbourg, members of the European Parliament voted 443-47 in favor of Lautenschlaeger.

She will replace fellow German Joerg Asmussen, who quit in December to join the new German government as the Deputy Labor Minister.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks declined by 0.58 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.09 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped by 0.17 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell by 0.30 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. decreased by 0.07 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland gained 0.32 percent.

In Frankfurt, E.ON declined by 0.87 percent and peer RWE lost 0.27 percent.

Equinet initiated Metro with a ''Buy'' rating. The stock decreased by 1.05 percent.

In Paris, Carrefour fell by 3.71 percent, after it reported sales data.

In London, BHP Billiton advanced by 3.82 percent. Citigroup upgraded the miner to ''Buy'' from ''Neutral.''

Anglo American gained 4.88 percent, after UBS upgraded the stock to ''Buy'' from ''Neutral.''

Rio Tinto added 2.47 percent. The mining giant reported a 6 percent increase in global iron ore production for the fourth quarter, reflecting the expansion of mining operations in the Pilbara region. Shipments also grew 8 percent to a record amid continued demand from Chinese steel manufacturers.

Berenberg reduced its rating on Intertek to ''Hold'' from ''Buy.'' The stock declined by 3.36 percent.

Associated British Foods fell by 2.63 percent, after reporting flat revenues for the first 16 weeks of the year.

United Utilities gained 4.55 percent, after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to "Overweight" from "Equal weight."

Home Retail Group rose by 1.54 percent, after it announced that its full year profit is expected to be at the high end of expectations.

Premier Oil, which issued a trading update, dropped by 6.49 percent.

Ahold decreased by 2.51 percent in Amsterdam. The firm reported lower quarterly sales.

Richemont lost 1.97 percent in Zurich. The luxury goods group reported a 9 percent increase in third-quarter sales at constant exchange rates.

Swiss Re dropped by 1.85 percent, after JP Morgan downgraded it to "Underweight" from "Neutral."

Europe's new car registrations declined for the sixth consecutive year in 2013, as recovery in demand over the second half of the year was insufficient to offset deep contractions seen in earlier months. New car sales dropped 1.7 percent to 11.8 million units in 2013, data published by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association or ACEA showed Thursday.

Eurozone inflation eased to 0.8 percent as initially estimated in December, according to final data from Eurostat, released Thursday. The rate was down from 0.9 percent in November. Inflation has stayed below the European Central Bank's target of 'below, but close to 2 percent' for the eleventh consecutive month.

Germany's EU harmonized inflation slowed in December, in line with the preliminary estimates, final data released by the Federal Statistical Office revealed Thursday. The harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) increased 1.2 percent in December from the same month of last year, which was in line with the flash estimates. In November, the HICP had recorded a 1.6 percent gain.

The number persons employed in German manufacturing sector increased in November from a year earlier, the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed Thursday. Almost 5.3 million people were employed in the manufacturing firms with 50 or more employees in November. This was 0.6 percent more than a year earlier.

An index monitoring house prices in the United Kingdom came in with a score of 56 percent in December, the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed on Thursday. That was shy of forecasts for 60 percent, and down from the reading of 58 percent in November, although the index remained above 50 percent for the fourth consecutive month.

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits showed a modest decrease in the week ended January 11th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday, with claims falling to their lowest level in over a month.

The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 326,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 328,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 328,000 from the 330,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With energy prices showing a notable rebound, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that U.S. consumer prices rose in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in December after coming in unchanged in November. The price growth, which matched the expectations of economists, reflected the biggest monthly increase since June.

Manufacturing growth in the Philadelphia-area continued in January, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday, with the index of regional manufacturing activity rising by more than expected.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its diffusion index of current activity rose to 9.4 in January from a revised 6.4 in December, with a positive reading indicating an increase in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to climb to 8.7.

After reporting a significant improvement in homebuilder confidence in the previous month, the National Association of Home Builders released a report on Thursday showing a modest pullback in confidence in the month of January.

The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down to 56 in January from a downwardly revised 57 in December. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged compared to the 58 originally reported for the previous month.