European exchanges wilt
European stock exchanges wilted Friday, dragged down by a disappointing report on US consumer confidence and a fall in oil prices.
The London FTSE 100 index shed 0.76 percent to close at 4,127.17 while in Paris the CAC 40 fell 1.41 percent to finish at 2,983.1. The Frankfurt Dax slipped 1.16 percent to 4,576.31.
Elsewhere in Europe there were declines of 1.27 percent on the Swiss Market Index, 1.04 percent in Madrid, 1.58 percent in Amsterdam and 0.23 percent in Brussels.
US stocks sputtered in early trade Friday with investors fretting over fears that recovery from the global recession remains distant.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 1.08 percent to 8,094.90 by mid-day while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.56 percent at 1,742.82.
Ahead of the opening, the government said the US trade deficit narrowed sharply in May to its lowest level in nearly a decade, led by a plunge in imported oil.
The deficit fell nearly 10 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted 26.0 billion dollars, the lowest level since November 1999.
The news appeared moderately positive for the US economy but also reflected weakness in overall global trade.
Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com said that "the impetus for the weak tone this morning was the weak finish yesterday, along with a report that China's exports declined for the eighth straight month."
He said this "is diluting some of the hope that China's domestic red shoots will germinate the green shoots of a global recovery."
The economic outlook "has most folks confused," said Al Goldman at Wells Fargo Advisors.
"We believe the data suggests that the end of the recession is near -- that's the good news for investors. However, the data also appears to indicate, as we have been saying for a month, that a strong economy is not just around the corner."
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