European markets open for closing, earnings, data and news

European stocks closed lower on Friday. Britain’s FTSE 100 ended the session down 94.4 points at 7524.1, Germany’s DAX fell 164.3 points at 15832.1, and France’s CAC slid 93.4 points to close at 7340.1. The Italian MIB closed trading down 300.3 points, at 28274.7.

Karen Gilchrist

US markets opened lower on Friday after the latest inflation report due this week came out higher than expected.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% in early trades, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%.

Karen Gilchrist

UK growth figures surprised the upside in the second quarter with growth of 0.2%, according to the Office for National Statistics. Household consumption and industrial production boosted the numbers.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected UK GDP to remain flat for the three-month period, as demand remains constrained by tight monetary policy and steady inflation.

The pound rose 0.3% against the dollar on the news, snapping a three-day losing streak.

The full story can be found here.

– Hannah Ward Glinton

core inflation in France It was at 5% for July, down from 5.7% in June, while food prices also slowed.

The core inflation rate does not include food or energy prices.

Food costs rose 12.7% in July, down from 13.7% in June. The numbers have been declining since March, when food inflation hit 15.9%. On an annual basis, energy prices fell 3.7% in July, after falling 3% in June.

– Hannah Ward Glinton

UBS announced on Friday that it had terminated a 9 billion Swiss franc ($10.27 billion) loss protection agreement and a 100 billion Swiss franc general liquidity support agreement put in place by the Swiss government when it acquired rival Credit Suisse in March.

Credit Suisse also confirmed that it has fully repaid the CHF50 billion emergency liquidity assistance loan taken from the Swiss National Bank in March, as the lender teeters on the brink after shareholder and investor confidence collapses.

“These measures, which were put in place under emergency law to maintain financial stability, will therefore expire, and the Union and taxpayers will no longer bear any risks arising from these guarantees,” the Swiss government said in a statement on Friday.

Read the full story here.

– Elliott Smith

While stock markets around the world have rebounded this year due to fading fears of a global recession, a number of stocks have been left behind.

For some investors, these battered stocks will present a tempting opportunity.

CNBC Pro examined stocks in the FTSE Developed Markets Index, which consists of about 4,000 large and mid-cap stocks, that have lost value this year, yet analysts predict that they will not only rebound, but also double from current levels.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech giant Alibaba jumped more than 3% after the company reported a 51% increase in attributable earnings and a 14% increase in revenue year-on-year for the three months ending in June.

This is the largest annual increase in sales since the September 2021 quarter, according to Refinitiv data.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba has undergone major changes in recent months, including the division of the company into six business groups and organizational reshuffles.

Current CEO and Chairman Daniel Zhang will step down in September, but remains head of Alibaba’s cloud computing business, as it pushes toward a public listing. The company said in June that Alibaba veteran Eddie Wu would succeed him as CEO, and Zhou Tsai would take over as chairman.

“Alibaba delivered a strong quarter as we continued to implement the reorganization, which has begun to unleash new energy across our business,” Zhang said in a statement released Thursday.

– Arjun Karpal, Lim Hui Ji

High net worth investor Jay Speer said US regional banks are a “potential minefield” in the current market environment.

Spire, who manages the $350 million Aquamarine fund, revealed why he prefers to invest in a large US bank over smaller ones.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open lower, according to IG data. The British FTSE 100 is expected to drop 31.5 points to 7585.7 points, the German DAX index 45.3 points to 15947.7 points, the French CAC 20.2 points to 7414.4, and the Italian MIB 119.1 points to 28588.4.

– Hannah Ward Glinton