European stocks mixed on Friday with Germany posting weak growth data and investors weighing more than 5,000 cases in China of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index
XX: SXXP
remained stable at 431.33, after losing 0.02% on Thursday, but is still ready for a weekly gain of 1.6%. The FTSE 100 index
United Kingdom: UKX
was stable, while the French CAC 40 index
FR: PX1
slid 0.1% and the German DAX 30 index
DX: DAX
also remained unchanged.
American Equity Futures
United States: YM00
were slightly higher. “Friday has the potential to be choppy if investors decide to take risks on the table with all the uncertainty – two days before the market closes. But also, the immersion buying mindset is very strong, “said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com, in a note to customers.
Eurostat said that Eurozone gross domestic product increased 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 0.3% in the previous quarter, according to a flash estimate.
Meanwhile, the data showed that the German economy was stalled in the fourth quarter, with flat gross domestic product falling short of expectations for an increase of 0.1%, according to a Wall Street Journal survey.
“Looking to the future, the latest soft indicators and industrial data for December do not bode well for the short-term outlook,” said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany, in a note to clients. “In addition, the impact of the coronavirus on the Chinese economy is likely to delay any rebound in the manufacturing sector because it disrupts supply chains at least temporarily.”
Opinion:Coronavirus could wipe out fragile hopes for European recovery
In the wake of a shocking peak of more than 15,000 cases of coronavirus in China, while the province of Hubei, badly affected, changed its method of counting the number of people affected, the authorities of the country reported on Friday 5,090 new case. The death toll increased from 121 to almost 1,400.
The fallout from the virus has continued to weigh on European businesses. AstraZeneca
United States: AZN
UK: AZN
Core operating profit fell in the last quarter of the year on Friday and its prospects depend on the progression of the coronavirus epidemic, as China is a key market for the company. Stocks fell more than 4% early to gain 0.2%.
AstraZeneca is “the first large pharmaceutical company to warn clearly about the situation in the country or to assume a negative impact in its forecasts for the opening year,” noted Eric Le Berrigaud, analyst at Bryan, Garnier & Co But he still expects 2020 to be the first year of “significant growth in a new phase that has just started”, and has reiterated its purchase score.
Main decline in Europe, shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland group
United States: RBS
UK: RBS
slipped by almost 6%. The majority state-owned bank has announced that it will rename itself NatWest Group and reduce the size of its investment banking activities. The bank also reported higher profit, but reduced its medium-term return target.
Renault actions
EN: RNO
jumped 3.3%. The French automaker experienced a loss for 2019 against a backdrop of weak global demand for cars and slower performance from its Chinese joint ventures. The company also reduced its dividend.
EDF shares climbing more than 6%
FR: EDF
led the winners of the Stoxx 600 after the French utility posted an increase in profits.
