LONDON, Oct 21: European shares closed lower on Friday, racking up their third straight weekly decline as falling metal and oil prices hit miners and energy stocks but farm chemicals maker Syngenta rose after posting higher sales.
By 1533 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index up 0.7 Per cent to 2,082.6 points, boosted by a 12 per cent jump in Web search company Google after it reported forecast-beating results.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was 0.5 per cent weaker at 10,226.3 points as heavy machinery maker Caterpillar fell 10 per cent after cutting its outlook due to a weak third-quarter.
A fall in US crude oil prices to $59.15 a barrel, the lowest level since late July, failed to support the broader market, which was hit by weakness in oil shares.
Both BP and Total lost nearly 1 per cent and Royal Dutch Shell shed 2 per cent.
Weaker commodity prices also weighed on miners, with Antofagasta down 2.3 per cent and both Anglo American and BHP Billition down about 1.5 per cent.
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange shed more than 6 Per cent after hitting a record $4,018 a tonne in the previous day, raising concerns of whether the market had peaked.
Around Europe, London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4 per cent, Paris’s CAC-40 was down 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt’s surrendered 0.5 Per cent.
Standout losers included Compass, down 5.8 per cent after the British caterer said it was suspending the head of one of its divisions and investigating its dealings with the United Nations.
BT Group sank 2.4 per cent after pay-TV company BSkyB agreed to buy broadband Internet firm Easynet. The deal will enable Sky to offer broadband, television and phone services and bring it into head-to-head competition with BT, analysts said.
Syngenta closed up 2.5 per cent after a 2 per cent rise in third-quarter sales beat forecasts, while a positive outlook from online gambling firm PartyGaming sent its shares up 10 per cent.—Reuters
