European stocks were mostly unchanged from opening levels on Friday as a rebound among mining stocks offset weakness among music stocks.
With little economic data for investors to feed on, market momentum lacked conviction in either direction.
"The current climate of high oil prices, uncertainty over the US economy and the prospect of a close-run presidential election is leaving many traders unwilling to commit themselves," said Paul Webb, a trader at CMC Group.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index, which tracks Europe's 600 largest listed companies, was down 0.1 percent at 239.91. The Dow Jones Euro STOXX Index, which tracks companies in countries that joined the common currency, was 0.1 percent higher at 228.83.
At the close of trading, London's FTSE-100 Share Index was 0.04 percent lower at 4,615.4, while in Paris the CAC-40 Index was down 0.01 percent at 3,687.17. Frankfurt's Xetra Dax Index was up 0.03 percent at 3,935.14.
Media stocks were under pressure from the start of trading amid reports that Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, opened an investigation into the ways global music companies secure radio airplay for their releases.
In London, EMI fell 1.4 percent to £2.17. In Paris, Vivendi Universal led the CAC-40 decliners, falling 2.1 percent to 20.93 euros.
Mining stocks, however, were performing strongly, spurred by relief over still-strong Chinese growth. Shares in Xstrata gained 1.6 percent to £8.88 in London and Rio Tinto rose 0.3 percent to £14.55.
Technology stocks remained under a cloud after a disappointing outlook statement overnight from software giant Microsoft.
Ericsson, the world's largest maker of mobile-telecom equipment, reported strong third-quarter earnings on Friday but remained cautious on its outlook. Despite initial losses, its shares recovered in the afternoon, ending up 1.6 percent at S$43.43.
Also bucking the trend, French telecom company Alcatel extended its previous session rally topping the CAC-40's gainers as investors continued to welcome a contract win with SBC Communications. Alcatel shares rose 2.5 percent to 11.22 euros.
Merger and acquisition activity dominated UK trade. Mid-cap fire-equipment maker Kidde extended Thursday's rally for a second session.
Investors speculated that United Technologies would return with an improved bid after Kidde said on Thursday it had rejected a cash offer of up to £1.60 per share. Shares gained 17.24 percent to £1.70.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
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Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”
HIGH-TECH: As leading-edge process technologies become more complicated, only a handful of players are able to provide design services, the company’s CEO said Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) yesterday said that revenue would grow significantly again in 2026 after adding a major AI chip customer, reversing moderation amid a product transition next year. The Taipei-based application-specific IC (ASIC) designer reiterated its strong revenue growth forecast for this year and 2026 after its stock plummeted about 23 percent to NT$3,145 from a peak of NT$4,085 on March 6 amid growing competition. Alchip said it has built strong partnerships with cloud service providers (CSP), denying that it had lost orders to smaller competitors such as Faraday Technology Corp (智原). Faraday said it has secured