BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as worries about Middle East conflict and uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continued to weigh on sentiment, even as concerns about Fed interest rates eased thanks to tame U.S. inflation data.
Investors digested the latest batch of regional economic data, and continued to react to corporate earnings updates.
The pan European Stoxx 600 shed 0.21%. France's CAC 40 and the UK's FTSE 100 closed down by 0.16% and 0.21%, respectively. Germany's DAX outperformed, gaining 0.53%. Switzerland's SMI ended lower by 0.58%.
Among other markets in Europe, Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Poland and Türkiye closed higher.
Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia and Sweden ended weak, whie Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Portugal and Spain settled flat.
In the UK market, the Sage Group climbed 4.5%. Experian, AutoTrader Group, IG Group Holdings and Entain gained 2%-3%.
Aviva gained nearly 2% after the insurer's first-half results beat estimates. The company said it remained on track to meet its three-year group targets.
Legal & General, Pershing Square Holdings, BT Group, Computacenter, Relx, Metlen Energy & Metals, Vodafone Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Babcock International also closed notably higher.
Miners fell sharply. Antofagasta ended 4.5% down
Glencore, Anglo American Plc and Rio Tinto shed 2.1%, 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively.
Pharma stocks AstraZeneca and GSK both closed lower by 2.1%.
Marks & Spencer, Burberry Group, Spirax Group Holdings, Halma, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco and Coca-Cola HBC also ended notably lower.
In the German market, Rheinmetall, SAP and Scout24 gained 2.5%-3%. SAP rose amid speculation over a potential takeover of US software firm Workday.
BASF, Hannover RE, MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Mercedes-Benz, Brenntag, Allianz, BMW and Volkswagen climbed 1%-2%.
E.ON fell more than 4% following disappointing draft gas regulations. Merck, Vonovia, Zalando, Henkel, Continental and Adidas ended down by 1%-2.3%.
In the French market, Dassault Systemes closed 3.7% up. Teleperformance, Edenred, Capgemini, Publicis Groupe, Renault, Pernod Ricard and Airbus gained 1%-2.5%.
Specialty vaccine maker Valneva soared 20% after the European Medicines Agency validated the marketing application for its Lyme disease vaccine candidate.
Engie, Sanofi, Danone, L'Oreal, Schneider Electric, Vinci, Kering, Legrand and EssilorLuxottica shed 0.7%-1.6%.
In economic news, data from Destatis showed German wholesale price inflation accelerated to 5.3% in July from 4.9% in June as a result of higher energy prices. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices gained 0.2%, reversing a 0.7% fall in June.
The price increase registered in July was largely attributable to the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, which resulted in higher wholesale prices of energy products and raw materials, in particular.
Data from INSEE showed the annual inflation rate in France accelerated to 2.1% in July from 1.8% in June, confirming preliminary estimates. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%, rebounding from a 0.3% decline in June.
The EU-harmonised CPI rose 2.4% year-on-year, up from 2.0% in June, while increasing 0.6% month-on-month.
The euro area economy expanded in the second quarter despite headwinds posed by the Middle East war, official data showey. Gross domestic product registered 0.4% sequential growth in the second quarter after posting flat growth in the first quarter.
Data from Eurostat showed Eurozone June Trade Surplus came in at EUR 8.6 billion, up from EUR 4.8 billion last year. Eurozone second-quarter GDP rose 0.4% over the preceding quarter.
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