European Markets Finish Friday With Mild Losses

(RTTNews) - The major European markets closed slightly lower on Friday, maintaining their trend of little movement as France and Germany reversed Thursday's slim gains while the UK was down for the third straight session.

The markets opened barely in the green but quickly headed south in a morning that saw them bounce back and forth across the unchanged line - but they turned lower for good in the afternoon and ended in the red.

Investors were unimpressed with the latest batch of economic data, and they remain nervous about the Federal Reserve's rate decision next week - although it is widely expected that the Fed will leave rates unchanged.

The DAX in Germany shed 40.12 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 15,949.84, while FTSE in London sank 37.38 points or 0.49 percent to close at 7,562.36 and the CAC 40 in France eased 9.01 points or 0.12 percent to end at 7,213.14.

In Germany, Symrise plummeted 4.34 percent, while Vonovia surged 3.15 percent, BASF tumbled 1.80 percent, Bayer retreated 1.54 percent, Deutsche Post declined 1.48 percent, Deutsche Telekom jumped 1.00 percent, Heidelberg Materials lost 0.72 percent, Deutsche Borse rose 0.52 percent, Infineon Technologies gains 0.49 percent and Deutsche Bank fell 0.20 percent.

In London, Experian stumbled 1.65 percent, while Auto Trader rallied 1.28 percent, Haleon slumped 1.17 percent, Rentokil skidded 1.11 percent, Vodafone jumped 0.98 percent, Prudential sank 0.93 percent, Shell lost 0.63 percent, British American Tobacco added 0.35 percent, Centrica fell 0.21 percent and Rightmove rose 0.19 percent.

In France, Vivendi plunged 2.35 percent, while Societe Generale spiked 1.97 percent, Danone declined 1.94 percent, BNP Paribas surrendered 1.65 percent, Veolia Environment advanced 0.98 percent, Credit Agricole dropped 0.91 percent, Orange sank 0.64 percent, Engie added 0.32 percent and Sanofi eased 0.04 percent.

In economic news, Italy's industrial production declined for the fourth successive month in April and at the steepest pace in seven months, the statistical office ISTAT showed Friday. Industrial production fell 1.9 percent month-over-month in April, following a 0.6 percent drop in March.

Sweden's economy remained unchanged in April after contracting in the previous two months, data from Statistics Sweden showed on Friday. Separate official data showed that industrial production advanced for the fifth straight month in April and at a faster pace. Gross domestic product flattened in April after falling slightly by 0.1 percent in March.

Slovakia's industrial production declined in April, data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic showed on Friday. Separate data from the statistical office showed that the trade surplus decreased in April, following a gain in the previous month. Industrial production fell a working day adjusted 2.0 percent year-on-year in April, following a 2.6 percent growth in March.