European Stocks Turn in Mixed Performance Friday

By Investors Hub

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Friday as Hong Kong braces for a fresh round of protests over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the editor of China’s state-backed Global Times tabloid said in a tweet that China is considering putting the drafters of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on the no-entry list, barring them from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has slipped by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Norway’s largest bank DNB has slumped after police launched an investigation into the handling of payments from an Icelandic fisheries firm to Namibia.

Swiss specialty chemicals company Clariant has also slipped after announcing it has established a strategic partnership with French cosmetics ingredients maker Plant Advanced Technologies.

Speed-train maker Alstom has also moved to the downside. The company has signed a contract with Italian operator FERROVIENORD for the supply of a first batch of 31 regional trains to Lombardy Region for a total value of 194 million euros.

Meanwhile, Nissan Motor shares have edged higher. At the monthly operating Board meeting, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance decided to appoint a General Secretary to be named in the coming days. The General Secretary will report to the Alliance Operating Board and CEOs.

Electric utility E.ON has also risen after company lifted its full year guidance despite reporting a decrease in nine-month adjusted net income.

In economic news, German retail sales grew at a much slower pace in October, data from Destatis revealed.

Retail sales grew only 0.8 percent annually after expanding 3.4 percent in September. Economists had forecast an annual growth of 3 percent. Nonetheless, this was the fourth consecutive increase in sales.

France’s economy expanded as initially estimated in the third quarter, while consumer price inflation accelerated in November, driven by food and services costs, official data showed.

French GDP climbed 0.3 percent sequentially, the same pace of growth as seen in the second quarter. The rate matched the estimate published on October 3.

Consumer price inflation rose to 1 percent in November, as expected, from 0.8 percent in October, provisional estimate from Insee showed.