LONDON — Most of Europe’s stock markets were down this morning, ahead of the New Year holiday.
The FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.2 percent to 5,554.34, while the DAX in Frankfurt fell 0.2 percent to 5,836.38. The CAC 40 in Paris inched up 0.1 percent to 3,128.97, and the FTSE MIB in Milan managed to rise 0.3 percent, to 14,949.52.
Leading the losses in London were shares in financial services companies, such as Man Group and Old Mutual, while commodities firm GDF Suez and banking firm Société Générale led the declines in Paris. The euro continued to fall on fears for the euro zone’s economies, after Italy’s long-term debt yields remained high following an auction Thursday. The euro was down 0.3 percent against the dollar this morning and also down 0.3 percent against the pound.
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The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed up 0.7 percent to 8,455.35, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong finished up 0.2 percent to 18,434.39.
The majority of fashion and luxury stocks had decreases in this morning’s thin trading. Mulberry Group fell 1.8 percent to 14.91 pounds, Safilo Group dropped 1.3 percent to 4.74 euros and ASOS fell 1 percent to 12.30 pounds. However, a few stocks did rise: French Connection was up 1.8 percent to 38 pence, having suffered heavy declines on Thursday. Carrefour rose 3.3 percent to 17.27 euros, while LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton increased 1.2 percent to 108.25 euros.
The euro traded at $1.29 Friday, while the pound traded at $1.54.