16/08/24 Briefing

The FTSE 100 and European stocks were mixed on Friday in London as the US opened lower following a week in the green for major US indices. In the UK, retail sales data showed a small consumer recovery in July compared with a tepid June, buoyed by spending related to sporting events such as the Euros, Olympics, and Wimbledon, and summer discounts.

• The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) fell 0.5% by the time US markets opened, pulled down by housebuilding stocks, following warnings that government targets for new homes may be challenging to meet. Persimmon (PSN.L) and Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) were both among the top fallers in the index.

• The DAX (^GDAXI) in Germany was up 0.6% and the CAC (^FCHI) rose 0.2% in early trade.

• The pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) rose 0.1%.

• US stocks slipped in early trading on Friday after a rally on Thursday saw the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) erase losses suffered during this month's sell-off. These gains have the major indexes on track for their best week of the year.

• After rallying more than 2% on Thursday, the Nasdaq fell about 0.4% at the open. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) traded on both sides of the flatline.

• On Friday, US investors will have a quiet calendar ahead of them, with the University of Michigan's latest reading on consumer sentiment set to be the main calendar-based event.

• Fresh data from the Office for National Statistics on Friday morning showed UK retail sales in July recovered somewhat, as expected, with the volume of goods sold excluding petrol rising by 1.4% compared with last year — a 0.7% improvement on the previous month. The ONS said this was led by department stores and sports equipment shops with both the Euros and discounting across many stores boosting sales.