European stock exchanges faltered on Friday, hammered by persistent oil price fears, disappointing data from the US and another warning from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan about prospects for the red-hot US housing market.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.53 percent to 5,228.1 while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.82 percent to close at 4,342.70. In Frankfurt the DAX shed 1.49 percent to end the week at 4,783.80.
The Euro STOXX 50 index of leading eurozone shares gave up 1.06 percent and closed at 3,224.10.
On the currency market the dollar lost ground against the euro in response to a weaker-than-expected US consumer confidence survey. But the loss was contained by comments from Greenspan suggesting that US interest rate hikes would continue.
Wall Street remained in the doldrums after the disappointing consumer sentiment report and warnings by Greenspan that the current housing boom was a risk for the US economy.
Crude oil futures were slightly lower on global markets but remained above US$67 a barrel -- close to record highs and at levels that could dent economic growth.
Adding to the gloom, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 89.1 late this month from 96.5 last month and 92.7 earlier this month.
"It's lackluster summer trading with a very mild negative bias," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies and Co.
Hogan said Greenspan's remarks about a housing imbalance acted as "a reminder that it is weighing on the conscience of the [Federal Reserve] and that's it's something we have to watch."
In London business services group Rentokil Initial fell 2.31 percent to £1.5850 after disclosing that Raphoe Management was not yet ready to put forward a takeover offer.
Advertising giant WPP gave up 1.94 percent to finish at £5.80 on half-year results that fell short of expectations.
Mining issues were also under pressure. BHP Billiton fell 0.80 percent to reach £8.0950 while Rio Tinto lost 0.82 percent and closed at £19.45.
In Paris oil group Total fell 0.77 percent to 205.70 euros despite crude prices that hovered close to record levels. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged energy industry officials to increase investment "to prepare for the future."
Financial issues were hurt by Greenspan's statements, which suggested further rate hikes in the US. Credit Agricole fell 1.56 percent to 21.45 euros, Axa shed 1.11 percent to reach 21.30 euros and BNP Paribas gave up 0.60 percent to end the session at 58.25 euros.
In Frankfurt tourism group TUI plunged 2.36 percent to 19.05 euros after announcing details of a capital increase of a little more than one billion euros to help it acquire Canadian container ship company CP Ships.
Elsewhere there were declines of 0.46 percent to 385.15 on the AEX in Amsterdam, 0.97 percent to 33,073 on the SP/MIB in Milan, 0.79 percent to 9,904.8 on the IBEX-35 in Madrid, 0.72 percent to 3,205.13 on the BEL-20 in Brussels and 0.61 percent to 6,445.36 on the Swiss Market Index.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”