A less positive US open than promised did little for the European indices, which remained resolute in their red-tinged end to the week.
After eyeing a 160 point increase, the Dow Jones could only deliver an 80 point rise as the bell rang on Wall Street, keeping the index above 25000 but around 250 points off of where it began the week. A barren economic calendar meant that it was a lack of confidence more than anything else that kept the Dow from matching the gains suggested by its futures, investors still unsure how much to buy into the index’s second half of February rebound.
The FTSE remained the worst performing major index this Friday, falling half a percent to loiter below 7225. There were a couple of different reasons for the FTSE’s decline, not all related to a downturn in sentiment. Primary among them was the fact sterling found itself 0.2% higher against the dollar and up 0.4% against the euro, the latter suffering after a disappointing eurozone inflation reading. On top of that came the 4.5% and 5.5% drops seen by RBS (LON:RBS) and IAG (LON:ICAG) respectively, investors choosing to focus on the negatives rather than the rather healthy news posted by both companies.
As for the eurozone, even with the euro on the back foot – its losses against the pound were joined by a 0.2% dip against the greenback – the region’s indices couldn’t find their way into the green. The DAX continued to struggle with 12500 after falling 30 points, with the CAC straining to keep above 5300 following a 0.3% decline.
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