LONDON — European stock markets were in retreat in midmorning trading on Thursday, with the FTSE 100 in London leading the downturn.
The London market was down 0.9 percent to 6,173.16, followed by the CAC 40 in Paris, 0.8 percent to 4,629.40.
The DAX in Frankfurt and the FTSE MIB in London both fell 0.6 percent, to 10,236.29 and to 21,988.91 respectively.
The euro traded at $1.12, while the pound fetched $1.54 and the Swiss franc equaled $1.02 at 11:10 a.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were mostly down, with the exception of high street retailer Next, which advanced 1.6 percent to 77.95 pounds after the company posted first-half results that were slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations.
Total sales for the group were up 2.7 percent to 1.91 billion pounds in the six months to July 31, while profit after tax was up 7.5 percent to 277 million pounds.
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French Connection was up 2.4 percent to 0.29 pounds, while Hermès International advanced 3.5 percent to 325.45 euros.
Among the stocks that lost the most ground in midmorning were Tesco, 2.1 percent to 1.87 pounds; Asos.com, 4.6 percent to 26.51 pounds, and Carrefour, 2 percent to 28 euros.