European stock exchanges close without a single direction with an eye on the US-Iran and tech on the radar
European stock markets closed without a single direction this Friday (10), with investors divided between the partial relief in tensions between the United States and Iran and caution with the technology sector on the day of the debut of South Korean SK Hynix's ADRs in New York. The focus also remained on corporate news, with mergers and acquisitions driving shares.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.24%, at 10,497 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX fell 0.13%, to 25,085 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.15%, at 8,338 points. In Milan, the FTSE MIB advanced 0.44%, to 52,614 points. In Madrid, the Ibex 35 rose 0.29%, to 19,378 points. In Lisbon, the PSI 20 lost 0.19%, to 9,106 points. Quotes are preliminary.
US-Iran tensions remain on the radar, especially after President Donald Trump confirmed the end of the ceasefire with Tehran, but defended the continuity of negotiations.
Jefferies stated that it continues to expect an agreement in the short term, although it considers that it should only represent a temporary solution. Bank of America assessed that "momentum" European stocks tend to lose strength after the strong appreciation in the first half of the year, citing concerns about investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the market's vulnerability to new headlines about the conflict between the US and Iran.
On the economic agenda, German consumer inflation (CPI) slowed to 2.3% in June, confirming the preliminary reading.
easyJet soared almost 14% after announcing a preliminary agreement with manager Apollo for a proposed acquisition, withdrawing support for Castlelake's competing bid. In London, Vodafone rose 12.7% after French businessman Xavier Niel announced the purchase of a 16.2% stake in the company, becoming its largest shareholder.
In Frankfurt, Bayer fell 1% after announcing the sale of a minority stake in its long-acting contraceptives business to Apollo for 3 billion euros.
The technology sector was among the main pressures of the day, dropping 0.8%, with a drop in ASML (-1.9%) and STMicroelectronics (-1.2%).
*With information from Dow Jones Newswires
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Source: CNN