European stock exchanges wilted on Friday, dragged down by sliding oil prices and weak US housing market data.
The London FTSE 100 index fell 0.21 percent to close at 6,419.50 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 slipped 0.13 percent to finish at 5,713.59. The Frankfurt DAX shed 0.02 percent to reach 6,957.07.
The EuroStoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares gave up 0.25 percent to end the week at 4,247.40.
On the currency market the dollar was little changed against the euro but was under pressure following the release of economic data in the US that presaged no imminent increase in US interest rates.
The single European currency in late-day trading was at US$1.3137 after US$1.3139 late on Thursday in New York.
Wall Street shares swung lower after the government reported that US housing starts plunged to their lowest level in nearly a decade last month.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed at a record high on Thursday, dipped 0.10 percent to 12,751.87 at 4:55pm.
The tech-laden NASDAQ composite was down 0.29 percent to 2,489.97.
Shares weakened after the Commerce Department said housing starts slid 14.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted 1.408 million units.
The steeper-than-expected slump in housing activity saw starts fall to their lowest level since August 1997.
Most Wall Street analysts had expected housing starts to decline, but only to around 1.6 million units.
Some analysts played down the sharp slump in housing starts.
"The decline is exaggerated, however, and not too much emphasis should be placed on it. January was a cold month after a warm December," said Dick Green, an analyst at Briefing.com.
In London, oil shares were depressed by crude prices that fell throughout much of the day before turning stronger near the end of trading.
BP shed 0.37 percent to £5.35 while Royal Dutch Shell lost 0.88 percent to finish at £16.85.
Supermarket chain Sainsbury gave up 0.88 percent to finish at £3.12 on a report in the Times that investment fund Cinven had abandoned plans for a takeover.
In Paris, steel giant Arcelor Mittal rose 1.45 percent to 38.54 euros (US$50.63), buoyed by a rise in prices for some products that was welcomed by investors.
Construction group Bouygues fell 1.36 percent to 54.20 euros after HSBC lowered its recommendation on the company.
In Frankfurt, tourism operator TUI lost 0.16 percent to 18.64 euros on profit-taking that set in after gains stretching over several weeks.
Elsewhere there were declines of 0.33 percent to 506.10 points on the AEX in Amsterdam, 0.19 percent to 14,876.9 on the IBEX-35 in Madrid and 0.26 percent to 4,532.75 on the BEL 20 in Brussels.
There were gains of 0.33 percent to a record 9,305.39 on the Swiss Market Index and 0.01 percent to 42,879 on the SP/MIB in Milan.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan’s semiconductor exports to the US to encourage chip manufacturers to move their production facilities to the US, but experts are questioning his strategy, warning it could harm industries on both sides. “I’m very confused and surprised that the Trump administration would try and do this,” Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research in California, said in an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday. “It seems to reflect the fact that they don’t understand how the semiconductor industry really works,” O’Donnell said. Economic sanctions would