By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - European stock markets traded in a mixed fashion Friday, searching for direction following the sharp rise in U.S. inflation yet generally positive corporate earnings.
At 3:50 AM ET (0850 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 0.1% higher, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.2%, climbing to a new record high, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.3%.
The main European indices look set to post a positive week, helped by the overall strength of the quarterly earnings season in Europe and despite a surprisingly strong reading on U.S. inflation, which raised the possibility of the Federal Reserve bringing forward plans to lift interest rates.
The U.S. consumer price index rose 6.2% year-on-year in October, official data showed on Wednesday, the strongest advance since November 1990.
Helping the tone were gains in Asia overnight, aided by signs of consumer confidence as Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and JD (NASDAQ:JD).com set new sales records across their platforms on Singles Day, the world's largest shopping event.
Back in Europe, Deutsche Telekom (OTC:DTEGY) stock rose 1.6% after reporting core profit above market estimates, raising its full-year outlook for the third time, boosted by its U.S. unit T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), along with growth in European business.
Richemont (SIX:CFR) stock soared 8.4% after the Swiss luxury goods group reported a healthy jump in its net profit in the first half of its fiscal year, and outlined plans to revamp its loss-making Yoox-Net-a-Porter business.
Hapag Lloyd (DE:HLAG) stock rose 4.7% after the German container shipping line reported a more than 10-fold surge in nine-month net profit.
On the flip side, AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) stock fell 2.4% despite the drugmaker expecting its Covid-19 vaccine to move to "modest profitability" on new orders after posting $1.05 billion in vaccine sales for the third quarter. The company has said will not make a profit from the drug during the pandemic.
The European economic calendar centers around Eurozone industrial production data for September, while the U.K. and the European Union are due to enter new negotiations over trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, in an attempt to avoid a potential trade war.
Crude prices weakened Friday, weighed by the continued strength of the U.S. dollar which makes the commodity more expensive for non-U.S. buyers.
The release of the Baker Hughes rig count and CFTC positioning data round off a volatile week in the oil market, while eyes will also be on Glasgow as the U.N. climate summit enters its final day.
By 3:50 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1% lower at $80.75 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.8% to $82.19. Both contracts are on course to record losses of around 0.7% this week.
Additionally, gold futures fell 0.5% to $1,855.45/oz, while EUR/USD traded largely unchanged at 1.1451.