Europe close: Stocks finish lower as profit-taking kicks in

(Sharecast News) - European stocks gave up earlier gains to finish slightly lower on Friday, as investors took profits with markets close to all-time highs.

The Stoxx 600 benchmark finished just 0.1% lower at 649.19, pulling back after surging to a new intraday record high of 656.67 early on.

Markets opened on the front foot following a positive finish on Wall Street and Asian markets overnight, as traders digested a fresh wave of Big Tech earnings, while Amazon and Apple posted better-than-expected earnings.

A resurgent chip sector also lifted sentiment early on as investors went bargain-hunting following the recent sell-off. South Korea's Kospi index, in particular, surged 18% overnight after massive gains in heavyweight stocks SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

However, indices across Europe erased gains by the close, with London's FTSE 100 and Zurich's Swiss Market Index both dropping into the red, which analyst Chris Beauchamp from IG blamed on "end-of-month profit-taking".

"With a weekend of potential strikes on Iran and the last day of July trading upon us, investors have looked to book in some gains," he said. "Yesterday's surge for beaten-down tech stocks has cooled a little, and the aforementioned weekend will have some part in the blame for this, but the dip buyers will be looking to hold the line for today and then resume the buying on Monday."

Oil prices were steady as investors continued to digest developments in Iran, with Donald Trump publishing a roadmap for implementing a ceasefire in Gaza. The so-called Board of Peace reached a "historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza", Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump said that Hamas had agreed to disarm as part of the agreement, though Israel's controversial national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has described the plan as "not acceptable".

In economic news, consumer price inflation across the eurozone accelerated in July, according to preliminary estimates released on Friday by Eurostat, as energy prices turned higher once again. The annual change in the harmonised consumer price index climbed to 2.9% from 2.8% in June, in line with analysts' expectations, while the core rate rose to 2.5% from 2.4%.

In equity news, Puma fell after sales dropped by nearly a tenth in the second quarter, which it blamed on softer consumer demand in key regions and last year's turnaround plan, though the sportswear group said it expects trends to improve in the second half.

Shares in Cr�dit Agricole rose after the French lender beat analysts' forecasts with its second-quarter results, which showed an unexpected gain in adjusted profits. The company reported net income attributable to shareholders of �2.05bn for the three months to 30 June, down 11.9% year-on-year on a reported basis, but 1.4% higher when excluding a one-off �304m gain recognised the previous year.