By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets slipped from an almost seven-week high on Friday, as technology firms dropped in the wake of disappointing earnings from U.S. heavyweights Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Mining firms tracked most metals prices lower.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.02% lost 0.5% to 298.34, after closing at the highest level since May 31 on Thursday.
The index was still on track for a 0.7% gain for the week, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank’s proposed timetable to taper its asset purchases is not set in stone. Additionally, he said the Fed intends to be very responsive to incoming data, adding that recent data have been mixed and it was too early to make a judgment on when the central bank will slow down the pace of its asset purchases.
Among notable movers in Friday’s trade, shares of heavyweight bank HSBC Holdings PLC UK:HSBA -0.81% HBC +1.37% HK:5 +1.17% dropped 0.9%, after Investec Securities cut the rating to hold from buy.
Tech firms were also mostly lower, after weaker-than-expected earnings reports from both Google GOOG -0.86% and Microsoft MSFT -7.87% soured the mood in the sector. SAP AG DE:SAP -1.47% lost 2%, Dassault Systemes SA FR:DSY -1.03% gave up 1.1% and Gemalto NV NL:GTO -1.06% dropped 0.8%.
Mining firms further slid as most metals prices declined. Shares of Rio Tinto PLC UK:RIO -0.29% RIO +0.04% AU:RIO -0.83% fell 2.4%, BHP Billiton PLC UK:BLT +0.13% BHP -0.46% AU:BHP -1.05% shed 2.2% and Anglo American PLC UK:AAL -0.18% erased 1.6%.
The losses for the miners weighed on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.25% , which traded 0.4% lower at 6,607.46.
Germany’s DAX 30 index DX:DAX -0.10% shaved off 0.5% to 8,239.71 and France’s CAC 40 index FR:PX1 -0.21% lost 0.5% to 3,909.03.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
