European Markets Finished With Mixed Results, Down For The Week

(RTTNews) - The European ended Friday's choppy trading session with mixed results. The markets finished the overall trading week with a decrease of around 1 percent. The mood among investors at the end of the trading week was cautious. Investors remain concerned about the continued selloff in global bonds and the Federal Reserve will hold its November policy meeting next week.

The Fed is not expected to make any change to interest rates next week, due to the upcoming presidential election. However, many believe a rate hike could still be a possibility in December.

Economic activity in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the third quarter, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The Commerce Department said real gross domestic product climbed by 2.9 percent in the third quarter after rising by 1.4 percent in the second quarter. Economists had expected 2.5 percent growth.

Corporate earnings results proved a mixed bag. Strong reports from UBS and Sanofi were offset by weak reports from AB InBev and Novo Nordisk.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.32 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.19 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.55 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.19 percent, but the CAC 40 of France rose 0.33 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.14 percent, but the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.20 percent.

In Frankfurt, Linde Group, the world's biggest maker of industrial gases by sales, climbed 3.52 percent after reporting a rise in third-quarter net profit and confirming outlook.

In Paris, Sanofi gained 3.49 percent. The company reported strong third quarter results and raised its forecast for the full year.

Total SA decreased 0.52 percent. The oil & gas company reported adjusted net income for the third quarter of $2.07 billion, down from $2.76 billion in the corresponding period last year.

BNP Paribas gained 0.64 percent after reporting better-than-expected profit for the third quarter.

Saint-Gobain jumped 5.69 percent after the building materials firm posted good organic growth in the first five nine months of the year.

In London, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1.20 percent. The lender warned of a "range of uncertainties" after reporting a £469m loss for the July-to-September period.

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group is surged 5.98 percent despite cutting its 2016 earnings forecast.

UBS Group rose 2.37 percent in Zurich despite warning of tough markets.

Home appliance manufacturer Electrolux advanced 5.25 percent in Stockholm after its third-quarter profit beat expectations.

AB InBev tumbled 4.33 percent in Brussels as the world's largest brewer cut its revenue forecast for the year, citing challenging market conditions in Brazil.

Novo Nordisk plunged 14.97percent in Copenhagen after it posted results for the first 9 months of the year. The company now expects full year sales growth of 5 percent to 6 percent and growth in adjusted operating profit between 5 percent and 7 percent.

The company previously expected sales growth of 5 percent to 7 percent and growth in adjusted operating profit of 5 percent to 8 percent.

Oil & gas company Eni dropped 2.18 percent in Milan after posting a third-quarter net loss.

Eurozone economic confidence rose more-than-expected in October to its highest level thus far this year, as the region weathered the uncertainty from the 'Brexit' vote.

The economic sentiment index improved to 106.3 from 104.9 in September, survey data from the European Commission showed Friday. This was the highest level since December 2015, when the reading was 106.6. The expected score was 104.9.

German inflation accelerated for a second straight month to a two-year high in October, preliminary data from Destatis showed Friday. The consumer price index rose 0.8 percent year-on-year following 0.7 percent in September. The figure was in line with economists' expectations.

The French economy recovered in the third quarter after contracting in the previous three months, preliminary data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Gross domestic product expanded 0.2 percent sequentially, reversing a 0.1 percent fall a quarter ago. But the pace of growth was slightly weaker than the expected 0.3 percent.

French inflation remained stable in October, flash data from the statistical office Insee showed Friday. Consumer prices advanced 0.4 percent year-on-year in October, the same pace of growth as seen in September. Inflation was forecast to rise marginally to 0.5 percent.

France's consumer spending unexpectedly dropped in September following an increase in the previous month, preliminary data from the statistical office INSEE showed Friday. Household consumption dropped 0.2 percent after a 0.8 percent increase in August, which was revised from 0.7 percent. Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent gain. In July, spending decreased 0.1 percent.

French producer prices in the domestic market increased marginally in September, the statistical office Insee reported Friday. Producer prices edged up 0.1 percent month-over-month in September, after remaining flat in the previous month.

Spain's economic growth eased marginally as expected in the third quarter, the statistical office INE said Friday. Gross domestic product climbed 0.7 percent in the third quarter from prior three months, when it advanced 0.8 percent. A similar slower growth was last logged in the fourth quarter of 2014.

British consumer confidence weakened as expected in October as consumers expectations for the general economy declined from September, survey data from the market research group GfK showed Friday. The consumer sentiment index dropped to -3 in October from -1 in September.

Reflecting concerns about the prospects for the national economy, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated by more than previously estimated in the month of October.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for October was downwardly revised to 87.2 from the preliminary reading of 87.9. The index is down from September's final reading of 91.2. The downward revision came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to be upwardly revised to 88.5.