European Shares Mixed In Cautious Trade

(RTTNews) - European stocks traded mixed on Friday after three consecutive sessions of gains.

Caution crept in ahead of a busy week of central bank meetings that could see the end of the U.S. tightening cycle.

The euro traded close to weekly lows against the dollar while bond yields eased somewhat after spiking in the previous session after the release of U.S. weekly jobless claims data.

In economic releases, U.K. retail sales advanced 0.7 percent month-on-month in June, faster than the 0.1 percent rise in May - official data showed earlier in the day. This was also faster than economists' forecast of 0.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales posted a decline of 1.0 percent after a 2.3 percent fall in May. Economists had forecast an annual fall of 1.5 percent.

Separate data showed the U.K. budget deficit narrowed in June but remained the third highest for the month since records began in 1993.

The pan European STOXX 600 was marginally higher at 464.10 after rising 0.4 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX dropped 0.4 percent, while France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 both were up around 0.2 percent.

Swedish steelmaker SSAB plunged 13 percent after its operating profit halved in the second quarter.

Peers Salzgitter, ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp lost 2-3 percent.

Danske Bank, Denmark's largest lender, rallied 2.2 percent after raising its full-year profit guidance.

Lonza plummeted 10 percent. The Swiss contract drug manufacturer lowered its 2023 sales and earnings targets after posting mixed first-half results.

Commodity trader Glencore dropped 0.8 percent in London despite delivering a solid first-half production performance.

Shares of Close Brothers fell about 1 percent. The financial services company has issued its scheduled pre-close trading update ahead of its 2023 financial year end.

Energy stocks such as BP Plc and Shell rose about 0.7 percent each as oil prices crept up amid hopes for new China stimulus and signs of falling inventories in the U.S.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech rallied 2.4 percent in Paris. The biopharmaceutical solutions provider confirmed its fiscal 2023 forecast despite uncertainties that remain high due to global political and economic situation.

SAP tumbled 4.2 percent, a day after the German business software maker posted cloud revenue growth below analysts' expectations.

Life-sciences group Sartorius AG declined 1.7 percent after posting lower H1 attributable profit.

Delivery Hero SE, an online delivery platform, was down more than 1 percent after it announced the acquisition of a 37 percent stake in HungerStation Holding Limited for $297 million.