Europe midday: Shares mixed as traders digest rate decisions

(Sharecast News) - European shares slipped were mixed on Friday amid muted trade as investors assessed a raft of rate moves this week and the Bank of Japan's decision to lift rates to their highest level in 30 years.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.09% to 584 at 1150 GMT with most major bourses mixed. Traders were also looking at the fallout from a sharp fall in Nike's share price overnight on the back of weakness in the sportswear giant's China markets and US tariffs on imports.

In economic news, Japanese policy makers increased the central bank's key interest rate by 25 basis points to "around 0.75%" - its highest level in three decades as price rises start to bite consumers.

The decision comes as new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi works to balance keeping a lid on inflation while also maintain cheap government borrowing.

The Bank of England on Thursday cut rates as expected in a split 5-4 decision by policy makers. Meanwhile the European Central Bank held rates for the eurozone.

"European traders appear to be on their holidays already if price action is anything to go by, with indices throughout the region treading water at the open," said Marketscope analyst Joshua Mahony.

"On the data-front, the UK centric week continues thanks to a retail sales release which saw a second consecutive monthly decline (-0.1% for November)."

"Coming off the back of a newly revised figure of -0.9% for October, we have seen a total 1% decline over the course of a two-month period that is typically associated with a pick-up in activity ahead of Christmas. Notably, we saw a drop-off in demand for online jewellers as the gold bull run hit jitters in October and buying pressure eased in November."

Puma and Adidas were both lower after Nike's second quarter results, which actually beat estimates, but were soured by weakness in the Chinese market and the hit from tariffs. Nike shares were down 10% in after-hours trading.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com