LONDON, Feb 10: European stock markets showed mixed fortunes on Friday after a Wall Street rally had faded overnight. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares dipped 0.07 per cent to 5,804.60 points in early trading, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 eased 0.06 per cent to 5,740.15 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 0.11 per cent to 4,960.99 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased also by 0.11 per cent to 3,730.85 points.
The euro stood at $1.1975.
US stocks had finished mixed Thursday as investor jitters resurfaced about how high the Federal Reserve would lift interest rates, dealers said.
An early rally helped by strong earnings from tech bellwether Cisco Systems fizzled in late trade as investor concerns re-emerged about US borrowing costs.
On Friday, Japanese share prices tumbled more than one per cent, as many foreign buyers stayed away.
In London, P and O slid 3.86 per cent to 516.75 pence after Singapore’s PSA International said it was pulling out of a multi-billion-dollar bidding war to acquire the British ports giant.
The withdrawal left the way clear for a takeover by Dubai’s DP World, whose offer of 520 pence, or 3.92 billion pounds (5.72 billion euros, 6.85 billion dollars) trumped PSA’s offer.
Elsewhere in London, defence research group Qinetiq began positively on its first day of trading, following the British government’s decision to float the company.
Qinetiq said that it had sold shares to institutional investors at 200 pence each, raising 618 million pounds and valuing the company at 1.3 billion.
Its share price stood at 215.25 pence in conditional dealing after opening at 215 pence and hitting an intra-day high of 216.75.
Meanwhile, Old Mutual shares rose 1.65 per cent to 185 pence after the Anglo-South African insurer said that investors owning more than 88.0 per cent of shares in Swedish rival Skandia had accepted its hostile takeover bid.
Old Mutual added that the deadline for its 4.8-billion-euro (5.6-billion-dollar) offer had been extended to March 14.
Skandia jumped 2.85 per cent to 50.5 pence, while the OMX Stockholm 30 Index fell 1.42 per cent to 975.92 Swedish kronor.
In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.23 per cent to close at 10,883.35 points after a swing upward of more than 90 points at one moment during the session.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended 0.49-per cent lower to 2,255.87 points and the broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index shed 0.15 per cent to 1,263.78.
In Asia on Friday, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei-225 closed down 1.11 per cent to 16.257.83 points. Hong Kong’s key
Hang Seng Index closed flat at 15,425.95 points.—AFP
