European stocks end Friday up, but weekly scorecards are mostly red

European traders were closing out the week on Friday with the region’s major stock benchmarks all in positive territory for the session. Yet the day’s advance was not sufficient to offset the ground lost over the full week for most markets. Italy’s FTSE MIB and France’s CAC were the biggest weekly fallers, while the UK’s FTSE 100 moved against the trend.

Friday’s settlement levels and daily changes were:

• Germany’s DAX: 25,087.28, up 280.30 points or 1.13%.

• France’s CAC: 7,803.34, up 73.64 points or 0.95%.

• UK’s FTSE 100: 10,552.04, up 110.45 points or 1.06%.

• Spain’s IBEX: 19,033.10, up 104.20 points or 0.55%.

• Italy’s FTSE MIB: 49,746.30, up 448.41 points or 0.91%.

For the trading week:

• Germany’s DAX: -0.57%.

• France’s CAC: -1.19%.

• UK’s FTSE 100: +0.86%.

• Spain’s IBEX: -0.27%.

• Italy’s FTSE MIB: -1.46%.

France remains a source of concern on the social front.

For France, the week brought another round of student demonstrations tied to teacher shortages, crowded classes and worsening school conditions. According to the Interior Ministry, 71,500 people took part in Thursday’s protests across the country. While the principal march in Paris was largely calm, other cities saw arson, vandalism and assaults on teachers. The demonstrations underscore a conflict between calls for stronger public services and the government’s need to cut debt and the deficit. Student unions said on Friday they would press on even after the government promised to deploy roughly 3,000 more teachers to schools. Around 141 schools stayed closed, and another school strike has been called nationwide for Tuesday. The market question is how those demands can be met while spending remains disciplined.

European benchmark yields ended the trading week with a split outcome.

Friday brought a similarly mixed session for 10-year yields across Europe. Germany, France and the UK saw yields rise, while Spain and Italy saw them fall:

• Germany: 3.482%, up 2.4 basis points.

• France: 4.859%, up 3.9 basis points.

• UK: 5.447%, up 2.0 basis points.

• Spain: 4.103%, down 3.0 basis points.

• Italy: 4.574%, down 1.6 basis points.

Over the full week, Britain had the biggest climb among benchmark 10-year yields:

• Germany: +2.0 basis points.

• France: -0.4 basis points.

• UK: +6.7 basis points.

• Spain: no movement.

• Italy: -3.5 basis points.

Despite the protests, France’s benchmark 10-year yield closed the week slightly down. Even so, it still stands higher than the comparable yields in Germany, Spain and Italy.

The dollar ended the week firmer versus Europe’s currencies.

Over the week, the dollar came out ahead in the European currency pairs:

• EURUSD: Down 57 pips or 0.51%.

• GBPUSD: Down 9 pips or 0.07%.

• USDCHF: Up 18 pips or 0.22%.

Among the three, the euro fell the most, whereas sterling barely moved. By Friday’s European close, the dollar’s picture was mixed. It had risen against the Canadian dollar, yen, euro, pound and New Zealand dollar, while falling versus the Australian dollar and Swiss franc. The most pronounced moves came in USDCAD, which was up 0.34%, and AUDUSD, which was up 0.30%.

US Treasury yields climb while metals and bitcoin gain.

Across the Atlantic, as traders in London and Europe wind down for the day, Treasury yields are trading higher, with the steepest gains at the front end:

• 2-year: 4.8017%, up 4.57 basis points.

• 5-year: 5.0283%, up 3.73 basis points.

• 10-year: 5.2547%, up 2.17 basis points.

• 30-year: 5.6116%, up 0.46 basis point.

Markets still see a 19.4% probability of an October rate increase. Gold and silver have pushed higher even with Treasury yields up, bitcoin is clawing back, and crude oil is roughly flat:

• WTI crude oil: $91.59, up $0.10 or 0.11%.

• Spot gold: $4,188.69, up $55.00 or 1.33%.

• Silver: $60.78, up $1.60 or 2.71%.

• Copper: $6.6965, up 1.95%.

• Bitcoin: $82,665, up $928 or 1.14%.

Oil found support at its 100-hour moving average on today’s dip. That average sat at $90.08 at the session’s low point, and the price dropped to $90.01 before turning back up.

European equities ended Friday on a brighter note. Over the full week, though, most of the region’s main benchmarks were still in negative territory. Britain proved the outlier, while Italian and French stocks were left with the biggest losses to claw back.