By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks swung between small
gains and losses Friday after data showed business confidence in
Germany fell this month.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up less than 0.1% to 341.16,
hovering around that level after the widely watched Ifo Business
Climate Index fell to 110.4, missing expectations of a reading of
110.9. The Ifo expectations and current-conditions surveys also
fell short of projections.
The euro (EURUSD) bought $1.3632 after the data, declining from
$1.3644.
Germany's DAX 30 index was up 0.1% at 9,727.90, little changed
after the Ifo report. Earlier, German government figures confirmed
growth for Europe's largest economy in the first quarter.
Elsewhere, France's CAC 40 index dropped 0.2% to 4,481.24, and
the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index shed 0.2% to 6,806.34, with shares of
Smiths Group PLC giving 1.6% after the security-sensor maker issued
a profit warning.
But shares of Barclays PLC (BCS) in London traded up 0.6% after
the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority said the bank will be fined
more than GBP26 million ($43.9 million) for failings around the
London Gold Fix. The bank and an ex-trader, Daniel James Plunkett,
avoided higher fines, of GBP136,600 and more than GBP37 million,
respectively, by agreeing to settle at an early stage.
In other action, Pandora AS shares fell 3.6% after the jewelry
retailer said it was selling 13 million shares to institutional
investors. On a more upbeat note, shares of Lanxess AG rose 1.3%
after Goldman Sachs lifted the chemicals firm to buy from
neutral.
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