PARIS/LONDON (DPA-AFX) – European stock markets fell mainly on Friday after reports arrived from the US on jobs markets. The strong data has renewed concerns among many investors that the US Federal Reserve will continue to take aggressive interest rate action to curb inflation.
The Eurostocks 50 ended the day down 0.78 percent at 3725.39 points, up half a percent in the first week of August. On Friday, the French CAC 40 fell 0.63 percent to close at 6472.35 points. The British FTSE 100 fell 0.11 percent to 7439.74 points.
“A strong labor market like today provides the US Federal Reserve with additional arguments for maintaining momentum in the current rate hike cycle,” said market expert Timo Emden. “On the other hand, it is to be expected that the rapid interest rate hikes of the past few months will have an impact on the labor market.”
On the corporate side, a few quarterly reports caught investors’ attention. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) impressed with its half-year figures. The core business has developed well, praised the analyst firm Jefferies. The stock gained a good 1.5 percent.
In contrast, the shares of the Italian bank BMPS lost around seven percent according to the quarterly data presented. The profit was lower than expected before the subsequent capital increase in the billions.
In Switzerland, the shares of the online pharmacy Zur Rose also fell by almost seven percent. The private bank Bernberg has based its half-year data from “buy” to “hold” on rival shop Apotheke. Analyst Gerhard Organas justified his pessimism with further delays in the introduction of electronic prescriptions. Zur Rose is also impressed by its online pharmacy DocMorris.
In contrast, tire manufacturer Pirelli increased by more than four percent. Italy not only impressed with a surprisingly strong second quarter, but also raised its revenue and free cash flow targets.
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