Europe’s main stock markets ended mixed yesterday with data underscoring the gradual economic recovery is underway in the United States, failing to animate light pre-holiday trading.
In London the FTSE 100 index of leading shares rose 0.21 per cent to 5,996.07 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 slipped 0.21 per cent to 3,911.32 points.
In Frankfurt the DAX dipped 0.15 per cent to 7,057.69 points in its final trading session before the Christmas holiday.
“European markets have been becalmed today despite attempts to push higher in early trade, and US economic data has done nothing to change the overall listless price action,” said Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets.
A Santa rally continued in London, with market coming within a whisker of the psychological 6,000-points level it has not breached since June 2008.
“The UK index very nearly breached the psychologically important 6,000 level as bull traders were able to mark the card amid low volumes,” noted equities head Giles Watts at City Index.
Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam closed up 0.01 per cent, Brussels gained 0.17 per cent, Milan rose 0.20 per cent and Swiss stocks climbed 0.70 per cent.
Meanwhile, shares in Lisbon dropped 0.23 per cent and by 0.75 per cent in Madrid.
The release of a pile of data underscoring that a gradual economic recovery is underway in the United States failed to move US stock prices.
Wall Street was mixed at midday on the last day of trading before Christmas, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average drifting up 0.11 per cent to 11,572.28 points.
The S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the market, slipped 0.14 per cent to 1,257.12 points and the tech-rich Nasdaq dipped 0.19 per cent to 2,666.47 points.
“Stocks continue to trade listlessly in the early going. Even data has done little to motivate market participants,” said analysts at Briefing.com.
New jobless claims in the United States remained close to their to lowest levels of the year last week, with new benefits seekers dropping by 3,000 to 420,000, according to Labour Department figures.
Data also showed US consumers earned and spent more in November, boosting expectations for a strong holiday shopping season as consumers become more aggressive in their spending.
Factory orders fell for the second straight month in November by 1.3 per cent, but excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders for manufactured goods rose more than expected, by 2.4 per cent.
“November’s durable goods re-port was an improvement from last month, but still suggests that the manufacturing expansion is slowing,” said Michael Bratus of Moody’s Analytics.
And sales of new homes in the United States in November rose 5.5 per cent to 290,000 from October, data showed, reaffirming that the struggling housing market which was at the heart of the 2008 crisis was slowly recovering.
Asian markets were also mixed yesterday with traders winding down for the holidays while an upgrade of US economic growth provided some cheer.
The British and French markets will reopen today for a half-day Christmas Eve session.