Global stocks fell slightly Friday, but European and U.S.
markets were still on course for monthly gains.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was 0.2% lower, weighed down by losses in
mining and energy stocks, and poised to break three days of
gains.
In the U.S., futures contracts showed the S&P 500 opening
0.1% lower. Futures don't always accurately predict moves after the
opening bell.
Shares in the U.S. and Europe had fallen sharply at the start of
the week as a slump in Chinese equities spilled over into global
markets, but have since more than recovered those losses as
investors turned to corporate earnings and clues on the timing of a
Federal Reserve rate increase.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell again on Friday, closing out
its worst month in nearly six years. But markets elsewhere showed
little reaction to the latest decline. Japan's Nikkei index rose
0.3%.
Stocks on Wall Street ended flat on Thursday after data showing
the U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace than expected in the
second quarter.
In Europe and the U.S., investors focused on corporate
earnings.
Shares of major oil companies fell after disappointing quarterly
earnings reports. Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest U.S. oil company,
reported a 52% drop in profit for its second quarter. Shares of the
company fell 2% premarket.
Chevron Corp. shares fell 1.9% after it reported $2.6 billion in
charges in its quarterly statement tied to lower oil prices.
Shares of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. were up 10.1%, leading
premarket gainers following news of merger talks with Coke bottlers
Coca-Cola Iberian Partners and Germany's Coca-Cola
Erfrischungsgeträ nke AG.
Shares of Hanesbrands Inc. fell 5.7% premarket after the apparel
maker posted second-quarter sales below analyst estimates.
Shares in Airbus Group climbed after the plane maker reported a
rise in second-quarter profit.
French bank BNP Paribas and chemical company Arkema both rose
after better-than-expected results.
Steel pipe maker Vallourec fell after reporting a loss for the
first half of the year.
Among companies on the Stoxx Europe 600 that have so far
reported second-quarter results, 54% have exceeded profit
expectations, according to FactSet data. That compares with 50% in
the first quarter.
"The earnings season in Europe has been pretty good," said
Christian Stocker, an analyst at UniCredit.
Concerns over the Chinese economy are likely to remain, and
could hold back shares in mining companies and car makers in the
coming months, he said.
In other markets, the euro rose against the dollar to
$1.1068.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was at
2.259%, compared with 2.268% Thursday.
In commodities markets, oil prices fell 1.2% to $47.92 a
barrel.
Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com and
Leslie Josephs at leslie.josephs@wsj.com
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