(MENAFN- AFP) European and Wall Street stocks struggled Friday to defend the week's gains as soft data from the US, China and the eurozone prompted mild profit-taking.
Frankfurt edged 0.3 percent lower at the close, while Paris shed 0.1 percent but remained above the key 4,500 level by a whisker. Surprisingly upbeat news on German economic growth put a floor under profit-taking in both markets.
London's FTSE index managed a steady closing level.
Stocks in New York were slightly weaker after US consumer spending data for July came in flat, suggesting a key driver of the world's largest economy had reached a plateau by midsummer.
US retail sales in July were $457.7 billion, essentially flat compared with the prior month and an indication of a pullback in consumer activity following strong gains in June.
US producer prices for the same month fell 0.4 percent, another indication of sluggish activity.
This points to a possible further delay in any rate hike by the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, analysts said.
"The consumer paused in July and, with price pressures soft, the Fed members will probably gain a few more gray hairs," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.
- 'Altitude sickness' -
The softer read on July retail sales seemed to "foster some altitude sickness after all three major indexes posted record highs yesterday," analysts at Charles Schwab said.
The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq all set new highs on Thursday for the first time since 1999.
"Also, the global markets are digesting some softer-than-expected Chinese economic reports," Charles Schwab said.
While Germany, the EU's biggest economy, delighted analysts with strong growth data, overall eurozone second quarter growth slowed sharply, official data confirmed Friday, weighed down by Brexit concerns and a poor performance in struggling France and Italy.
Growth in the 19-nation eurozone came in at 0.3 percent, slowing from 0.6 percent in the three months to January but unchanged from the initial estimate given last month.
The data "highlight concerns about France and Italy", analysts at Capital Economics said, and "showed a strong contrast between the euro-zone's best and worst performers. But the big picture was that growth across the region is slowing".
Germany's GDP expanded by 0.4 percent in adjusted terms between April and June, twice as much as forecast by analysts surveyed by Factset.
- 'Growth achievable' -
"Germany, the engine room of Europe, continues to show that growth is achievable despite the anaemic recovery of the euro area," said Edward Hardy, market analyst at foreign exchange group World First.
Earlier Friday, a strong lead from Wall Street's record and a rebound in oil prices gave Asian stock markets a lift, even as fresh economic data from China missed expectations.
Investors shrugged off figures from the world's second largest economy showing retail sales growth slowed, instead tracking US markets where all three major indices vaulted to new records.
Retail sales in China rose 10.2 percent year-on-year in July, a sharp slowdown from the 10.6 percent increase in June and below the median forecast of a 10.5 percent rise in a Bloomberg News poll of economists.
Beijing is looking to retool the economy from a reliance on investment spending and exports to one driven more by consumer demand, but the transition is proving bumpy and gross domestic product growth expanded last year at its slowest rate in a quarter of a century.
- Key figures at around 1545 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 6,916.02 points (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,713.43 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,500.19 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,045.75
New York - DOW: DOWN 0.1 percent at 18,594.72
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 16,919.92 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.6 percent at 3,050.67 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 22,766.91 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1181 from $1.1138 Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2936 from $1.2955
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 101.05 yen from 101.95 yen
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