By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
COPENHAGEN (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets ended
slightly higher on Friday, as investors tried to gauge whether the
latest U.S. economic data would weaken or strengthen the case for
tapering of the Federal Reserve's asset-purchase program.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.2% to end at 311.46. It
advanced 1.8% for the week.
The benchmark has gained 4.8% so far in September and Atif
Latif, director of trading at Guardian Stockbrokers, said the
equity market is in good shape as the "cyclical recovery remains on
track and macro indicators are positive." "And with global equities
still trading below historical averages, we remain bullish," he
added.
Shares of Kabel Deutschland Holding AG jumped 6.3% after
Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) said it has secured enough shares in the
German cable firm to succeed with the proposed takeover. Vodafone
shares inched 0.9% higher in London.
Shares of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA gained 3.6% after its
Helios subsidiary agreed to buy 43 hospitals from Rhoen-Klinikum AG
, making Fresenius Helios the largest private hospital operator in
Europe. Shares of Rhoen-Klinikum jumped 11.4%.
Mining firms posted some of the biggest losses as metals prices
broadly moved lower. Shares of Polymetal International PLC dropped
3.5%, Anglo American PLC fell 3.2% and heavyweight Rio Tinto PLC
(RIO) lost 1.4%.
U.S. tapering fears
Investors turned their attention away from Syria as the risk of
a U.S. military strike receded. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were set to conclude the
final day of talks in Geneva on Friday to study the proposal for
Damascus to give up its chemical weapons.
Instead, market participants focused more on the U.S. Federal
Reserve meeting next week, waiting to see whether the central bank
will start scaling back its $85-billion-a-month asset-purchase
program. Analysts speculate that recent upbeat data will make for a
strong enough case for the Fed to begin the tapering process at the
meeting.
Data on Friday showed U.S. sales rose 0.2% in August -- less
than Wall Street expected -- but sales in July and June were
revised higher.
"A rational market would respond more to the positive revisions
than to the headline disappointment. The core measure which
excludes cars and gas-station sales was revised to its strongest
monthly pace this year. This report will not dissuade the Fed from
its chosen course next week," said Guy Foster, head of portfolio
strategy at Brewin Dolphin.
The University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment
index for September fell to 76.8, the lowest level since April,
from a final reading of 82.1. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch
expected a level of 81.5 in September.
Speculation about who will succeed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was
also in the spotlight on Friday. The White House denied a report by
Japanese newspaper Nikkei, which cited unnamed sources, that said
President Barack Obama plans to name former U.S. Treasury Secretary
Lawrence Summers as the next Fed chairman possibly as soon as next
week. Summers is seen as more skeptical toward quantitative easing
than Janet Yellen, who is also one of the front-runners to succeed
Bernanke.
Among country-specific indexes in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100
index fell 0.1% to 6,583.80.
France's CAC 40 index gained 0.2% to 4,114.50.
Germany's DAX 30 index rose 0.2% to 8,509.42.
Shares of Munich Reinsurance Co. gained 2.3% in Frankfurt after
J.P. Morgan Cazenove lifted the firm to overweight from
neutral.
Shares of Carlsberg AS rose 1.6% in Copenhagen after Goldman
Sachs lifted the brewer to neutral from sell and removed it from
the pan-Europe sell list.
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