European markets open to close, earnings, data and news

European stock markets fell on Friday. England’s FTSE 100 fell 94.4 points to 7,524.1, Germany’s DAX fell 164.3 points to 15,832.1 and France’s CAC fell 93.4 points to 7340.1. Italy’s MIB also closed down 300.3 points at 28,274.7.

– Karen Gilchrist

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

The Dow Jones industrial average was 0.3% lower in early deals, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite also fell 0.7%.

– Karen Gilchrist

According to the Office for National Statistics, UK growth figures surprised the upside with 0.2% growth in the second quarter. Household consumption and manufacturing output numbers lifted.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected UK gross domestic product to be flat for the three-month period as demand was hampered by continued tight monetary policy and sticky inflation.

Sterling rose 0.3% against the dollar on the news, snapping its three-day losing streak.

The full story can be found here.

– Hannah Ward-Glenton

Core inflation France It was 5% in July and 5.7% in June, while food prices also fell.

The core inflation rate does not factor in food or energy prices.

Food spending rose 12.7% in July from 13.7% in June. The figure has been decelerating since March, when food inflation hit 15.9%. Year-over-year energy prices fell 3.7% in July after a 3% decline in June.

– Hannah Ward-Glenton

UBS said on Friday it concluded a 9 billion Swiss franc ($10.27 billion) loss protection agreement and a 100 billion Swiss franc general liquidity backstop when the Swiss government took over rival Credit Suisse in March.

Credit Suisse has also fully repaid a 50 billion Swiss franc emergency liquidity assistance loan it received from the Swiss National Bank in March, after a collapse in shareholder and investor confidence pushed the lender to the brink, UBS confirmed.

“These measures created under the emergency law to safeguard financial stability will cease, and the federation 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.

— Elliot Smith

While global stock markets rallied this year as fears of a global recession faded, many stocks lagged behind.

For some investors, these beaten-down stocks present an exciting prospect.

CNBC Pro screened for stocks in the FTSE Developed Markets Index, which is made up of about 4,000 large- and mid-cap stocks that have lost value this year, though analysts expect them to not only recover but even double from current levels.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Chinese technology giant Alibaba rose more than 3% after posting a 51% gain in the three months ended June and a 14% year-on-year increase in revenue.

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

Hangzhou-headquartered Alibaba has undergone major changes in recent months, including splitting the company into six business groups and organizational restructuring.

Current CEO and chairman Daniel Zhang will step down in September, but remains at the helm of Alibaba’s cloud computing business, which is pushing toward a public listing. Alibaba veteran Eddie Wu will succeed him as CEO, and Joe Tsai will take over as chairman, the company said in June.

“Alibaba delivered a solid quarter as we continue to implement our restructuring, which is beginning to unleash new energy in our businesses,” Zhang said in a release Thursday.

– Arjun Karpal, Lim Hui Jie

Renowned value investor Guy Spear has called US regional banks “potential landmines” in the current market environment.

Spear, who manages the $350 million Aquamarine fund, also revealed why he prefers investing in a large U.S. bank over smaller ones.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

European markets are expected to open lower, according to IG data. Britain’s FTSE 100 is expected to drop 31.5 points to 7,585.7, Germany’s DAX 45.3 points to 15,947.7, France’s CAC 20.2 points to 7414.4 and Italy’s MIB 119.1 points to 28,58.5.

– Hannah Ward-Glenton