European major stocks end mixed
LONDON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — European major stock markets ended mixed Wednesday as investors banked profits from four straight winning sessions against poor performances of oil giants although solid US retail sales data in July stoked economic recovery hopes.
Britain’s top shares ended lower as oil majors BP and Shell sagged and Wall Street took little cheer from robust US retail sales data, but gains in drugmaker AstraZeneca limited the fall. The FTSE 100 index ended down 4.9 points or 0.12 percent at 4,180. 7 points, ending a four-day winning streak.
In Frankfurt, the DAX index ended at 3,398.89 points, up 17.18 points or 0.51 percent while in Paris, the CAC-40 index closed at 3,208.06 points, down 0.17 or 0.01 percent.
Heavily weighted oil stocks dragged the markets. But auto stocks like Renault, Volkswagen and BMW found favor with hedge fund buyers. Renault and BMW gained 4 percent and 3 percent respectively.
Better-than-expected results from German truck maker MAN pushed its stock as much as 8.16 percent higher after its quarterly profit came in at the top of expectations. German airline Lufthansa’s shares gained nearly 3 percent after its second- quarter results surprised the market with a profit.
Shares in Dutch chip equipment maker ASML were up 3.2 percent while German chipmaker Infineon rose 3.4 percent.
Insurers were also rallied with Swiss Re rising 3.6 percent and Axa, up 2.33 percent.
