European stock exchanges ended the week with mixed fortunes on Friday, with profit taking in all major markets except London reversing earlier gains after slightly disappointing US economic data.
The London FTSE 100 index gained 0.23 percent to finish at 5,282.3 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX 30 fell 0.12 percent to 4,886.50 and the Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.24 percent to 4,451.74.
The DJ Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares closed 0.20 percent lower at 3,326.51 points.
On Wall Street, by London's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 24.60 points lower at 10,680.90, having reversed earlier gains. The NASDAQ composite index was down 5.73 points at 2,192.71 as investors digested mixed US economic data.
Second-quarter GDP in the US grew by 3.4 percent, below some economists' predictions of a 4 percent rise, but Chicago PMI data, an indication of economic activity in the Chicago area, increased to 63.5 percent in July, easily topping the 55.1 percent reading expected.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading companies briefly rose above 5,300 points for the first time since March 2002, boosted by heavyweight energy stocks after crude oil prices rose above 60 dollars per barrel.
Royal Dutch Shell gained 2.2 percent to ?17.45 as fires at relatively minor production centers in India and the US pushed New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, up to US$60.35 on Friday. Shell also benefited from broker upgrades, dealers said.
Anglo-Swedish drugs group AstraZeneca continued to benefit from its strong results published on Thursday, as analysts at Nomura upgraded the stock to "buy."
Shares in the company closed 3.15 percent higher at ?25.58.
BPB was also a strong gainer, closing up 2.44 percent to ?7.14, as predator St. Gobain reported forecast-beating first-half results and said it was still studying a deal with the British plasterboard maker.
In Germany, shares in car makers outperformed the falling market as Volkswagen posted solid first-half results after news on Thursday of a management reshuffle at DaimlerChrysler.
Shares in Volkswagen closed 2.22 percent higher at 44.76 euros, the biggest gainers on the Frankfurt stock exchange
DaimlerChrysler shares finished 1.60 percent higher at 40.12 euros.
Much-maligned chief executive of DaimlerChrysler, Juergen Schrempp, said on Thursday that he would step down at the end of the year, sending shares nearly nine percent higher.
The Paris stock market ended lower on profit-taking after a week during which the CAC 40 index hit its highest levels for three years.
Veolia Environnement closed 2.07 percent higher at 32.01 percent after saying its first-half sales reached 12.148 billion euros (US$14.74 billion), an increase of 10.8 percent compared with the same period last year.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss Market Index fell 0.17 percent to 6,600.88 points.
The Amsterdam AEX closed 0.20 percent higher at 395.77 points, the Brussels BEL-20 fell 0.15 percent to 3,228.01, the Madrid IBEX-35 fell 0.13 percent to 10,115.60 and the Milan SP/MIB fell 0.24 percent to 33,693 points.
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