The European indexes took a step back on Friday. Investors also assessed a large stream of business results. In the AEX index, information provider Wolters Kluwer was one of only two risers, after better than expected results. Oil and gas group Shell was the other winner of the Amsterdam main funds.
The AEX index was 0.9 percent lower than the opening bubble on Wall Street at 525.56 points. The MidKap dropped 1.3 percent to 799.18 points. The stock exchanges in Paris, Frankfurt and London lost 0.3 to 1.1 percent.
Wolters Kluwer managed to increase its profit in the first half of the year and was rewarded by investors. The share scored 1 percent in the plus. Shell added 0.3 percent. Biotech company Galapagos lost 0.9 percent of stock market value after it released announces its unaudited first half-year results, which are further detailed in its H1 2017 report available on the Galapagos website. The biggest loser in the AEX was cable and telecom company Altice which lost 2.5 percent after publishing the quarterly figures which showed it has lost 37K subscribers.
Air France-KLM’s share (minus 3.1 percent) experienced a session with strong fluctuations. During the day, the share was among the leading runners. The airline performed better than expected in the last six months. However, according to ING analysts, the announced deal is not a good news for investors. Air France-KLM itself takes an interest in Virgin Altantic, while Delta and China Eastern each take a 10 percent stake in the aviation group.
Flow Traders was a leader in the MidKap index with an increase of 4.3 percent. According to ING analysts, the weak figures of the stock market was no surprise.
In Frankfurt, Adidas made a 7.5 percent price jump. The German seller of sporting goods had a strong second quarter and significantly raised its expectations. The French car manufacturer Renault basked in Paris almost 6 percent after the publication of the half-year figures.
A large number of European banks also came with figures. In Zurich, UBS dropped 3.4 percent despite better than expected results. Competitor Credit Suisse, who also made more profit than expected, climbed 3 percent. In Paris, BNP Paribas rose 0.5 percent and Barclays lost 1.4 percent in London.
