PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The major European stock markets were a study in contrasts on Thursday as France and Germany opened higher and stayed that way throughout, while the UK started in the red and finished the same way.
Even though the minutes from the recent meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes contained few surprises, investors were hesitant to take long positions as the markets continued their weeklong trend of mixed and little changed.
The outlook for interest rates continues to be a consideration as Fed funds futures now price in three more quarter-percentage-point rate hikes this year.
Germany's DAX rose 75.80 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 15,475.69, while the FTSE in London sank 22.91 points or 0.29 percent to close at 7,907.72 and the CAC 40 in France added 18.17 points or 0.25 percent to end at 7,317.43.
In Germany, Fresenius Medical plummeted 5.22 percent, while Fresenius SE tumbled 4.82 percent, Siemens Energy spiked 2.96 percent, Infineon Technology jumped 1.62 percent, Deutsche Post climbed 0.89 percent, Heidelberg Cement advanced 0.87 percent, Daimler Truck Holding improved 0.75 percent, Deutsche Borse sank 0.61 percent, Covestro gained 0.46 percent, Deutsche Telekom rose 0.45 percent and Deutsche Bank perked 0.42 percent.
In London, Rolls-Royce Holdings skyrocketed 23.68 percent, while Vodafone tumbled 1.49 percent, Shell climbed 1.33 percent, Haleon slumped 1.11 percent, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust skidded 0.99 percent, Airtel Africa dropped 0.98 percent, Rentokil sank 0.85 percent, Rightmove gained 0.71 percent, British American Tobacco rose 0.46 percent, Prudential lost 0.36 percent and Centrica fell 0.34 percent.
In France, Bouygues spiked 2.01 percent, while BNP Paribas jumped 1.30 percent, Danone retreated 1.39 percent, Airbus improved 1.35 percent, Orange skidded 0.99 percent, Carrefour slumped 0.95 percent, Credit Agricole gained 0.77 percent, Engie added 0.37 percent, Vivendi slid 0.31 percent, Societe Generale collected 0.22 percent and Atos eased 0.15 percent.
In economic news, Eurozone inflation slowed less than estimated in January and remained at an elevated level, final data from Eurostat showed on Thursday. The harmonized index of consumer prices gained 8.6 percent on a yearly basis in January, following December's 9.2 percent gain.
UK retailers expect sales to decline next month and remained pessimistic about the business outlook, survey results from the Confederation of British Industry showed on Thursday. A net 2 percent of retailers said their sales volume increased in the year to February, which was better than the -23 percent registering a fall in sales in January and forecast of -13 percent. However, a net 18 percent of retailers said their sales volume will decline in March.
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