(Alliance News) - Stock prices in Europe were lower on Friday afternoon as the mood in global markets soured, leaving London's FTSE 100 set for a weekly loss despite Thursday's rally.
Uninspiring quarterly results from Amazon after the closing bell in New York set the tone late Thursday, before Asian equities slumped on Friday amid further virus fears.
The FTSE 100 index was down 62.51 points, or 0.9%, at 7,015.91 midday Friday, about 0.2% lower than it was at the end of last week.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 148.13 points, or 0.6%, at 22,902.33. The AIM All-Share index was down 3.69 points, 0.3%, at 1,243.58.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.9% at 698.81. The Cboe 250 was down 0.7% at 20,682.15, and the Cboe Small Companies was 0.5% lower at 15,228.60.
"It's looking like a soggy end to July both in meteorological terms and with the markets as so-so numbers from Amazon and a sell-off in Asia linked to Covid concerns had a dampening effect on sentiment," AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson commented.
"As the flood of corporate updates on both sides of the Atlantic slows to a stream and then a trickle, we enter the summer lull for the markets – although this can be a dangerous time for equities. With experienced investors away from their desks on holiday and trading volumes lower, it sometimes doesn't take much for a market correction to begin and with Covid-19, inflationary pressures and regulatory crackdowns all in the background, there are a plenty of potential catalysts for a sell-off."
Inflation will be in focus later on Friday, with the US personal consumption expenditures reading due at 1330 BST. Core PCE is the US Federal Reserve's preferred inflationary gauge.
In the eurozone, preliminary figures showed consumer price growth accelerated, potentially stoking inflationary fears once more.
Eurostat said consumer price inflation accelerated to 2.2% annually in July from 1.9% in June. It topped expectations of a 2% hike in consumer prices.
Core consumer price growth, so excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, slowed to 0.7%, however, from 0.9% in June. The figure was below market expectations of a 0.8% hike.
The euro stood at USD1.1899 on Friday afternoon, up from USD1.1885 at the European equities close Thursday.
Separate data from Eurostat painted an improved picture of the single currency area's economy, with gross domestic product growth topping expectations and the unemployment rate ticking lower.
According to Eurostat, eurozone GDP rose 2.0% quarter-on-quarter during the three months to June. It topped market expectations of 1.5% growth, according to FXStreet-cited consensus, and followed a 0.3% decline in the first quarter.
The eurozone's unemployment rate ticked down to 7.7% in June from 8.0% in May. A smaller drop to 7.9% was expected, so the figure beat expectations.
"Judging by these headlines alone, the eurozone economy is purring," Pantheon Macroeconomics analyst Claus Vistesen commented.
"Meanwhile, in the inflation data, we advise investors not to draw any major conclusions based on these data. Yes, inflation in the eurozone appears to be rising - and it will increase further in the next few months - but base effects from last year's VAT cut in Germany is a key driver."
The CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.3%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.9% lower.
The strong economic data from the eurozone did little to lift blue-chip benchmarks in Paris and Frankfurt. Carmaker Renault weighed on the CAC 40, down 3.6%, despite booking a net profit of EUR368 million in the half-year to June 30, compared with a bottom-line loss of EUR7.3 billion a year earlier.
Peer Daimler was down 1.9% in Frankfurt, meanwhile.
In London, Intertek and International Consolidated Airlines were bottom of the FTSE 100, down 7.2% and 6.9, respectively.
Quality assurance firm Intertek said interim revenue declined 1.0% to GBP1.32 billion from GBP1.33 billion a year earlier. However, pretax profit in the first half of 2021 rose 30% to GBP169.1 million from GBP130.8 million.
Intertek left its payout unchanged at 34.2 pence per share.
Broker Davy noted Intertek's revenue came in towards the bottom end of a "wide" forecast range of GBP1.32 billion from GBP1.45 billion.
Meanwhile, IAG - which owns British Airways and Aer Lingus as well as Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling - posted a pretax loss in the first half of EUR2.34 billion, narrowed from EUR4.22 billion a year prior.
First half revenue of EUR2.21 billion was generated, down 58% annually from EUR5.29 billion. In the second quarter alone, however, revenue jumped 77% to EUR1.24 billion from EUR703 million.
interactive investor analyst Keith Bowman commented: "On the downside, management's omission of any 2021 profit guidance continues to sum up the degree of uncertainty still being faced by the airline industry.
"Prospects for business travel, a key arena for British Airways, also remains clouded, with virtual meetings during the pandemic potentially making the costs and time of physical travel harder to justify in the future."
In the FTSE 250, easyJet, Tui and Carnival were down 5.3%, 4.8% and 4.3%, in poor session for the travel sector in London.
The pound fetched USD1.3974 midday Friday, up from USD1.3967 at the London equities close on Thursday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY109.58, up from JPY109.54.
New York stock index futures were lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was called down 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was called down 1.1%.
Amazon was 6.3% lower in pre-market trade, as its second-quarter revenue fell short of lofty consensus expectations.
For the three months to the end of June, total net sales surged 27% to USD113.08 billion from USD88.91 billion a year ago. However, the market had been looking for a sales figure just above USD115 billion.
Brent oil was quoted at USD74.82 a barrel midday Friday, down from USD75.51 at the London equities close on Thursday. Gold was trading at USD1,827.86 an ounce, down slightly from USD1,829.48.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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