European markets close lower, US remains flat

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - European stock exchanges closed lower on Friday as risks surrounding Chinese real estate developer Evergrande continue, while the US indices remained flat after a weak opening.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, was up 4.21 points, or 0.9%, to close at 463.29. The index gained 0.31% this week.

London's FTSE 100 lost 26 points, or 0.38%, to 7,051, while Germany's DAX 30 index fell 112, or 0.72%, to 15,531. They were up 1.26% and 0.26%, respectively, for the week.

The French CAC 40 was the worst performer of the day by plummeting 63, or 0.95%, to 6,638. It posted a weekly increase of 1.03%.

Italy's FTSE MIB dove 112, or 0.43%, to 25,968 points, and Spain's IBEX declined 3.8 points, or 0.04%, to 8,873. This week, they rose 1% and 1.28%, respectively.

China's second-largest property developer Evergrande has missed the deadline of an $83.5 million interest payment that was due Thursday, and it has not made an announcement about it yet.

Risks surrounding the issue have stalled US stock exchanges that had a rally on Thursday when all three indices gained more than 1% each.
The previous day's rally came amid the Federal Reserve on Wednesday delayed tapering -- the process of cutting back its $120 billion worth of monthly bond purchases.

- US exchanges flat

Despite a lower opening on Friday, major indices in the US were flat at 1.05 p.m. EDT (1705GMT).

The Dow Jones was down just 1 point to 34,763, while the S&P 500 was up 2 points to 4,451.

The Nasdaq, on the other hand, fell 21 points, or 0.14%, to 15,030.

The VIX volatility index dove 4.7% to 17.75 and the dollar index was down 0.17% to 93.30.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes increased 3% to 1.453%,

Precious metals were mixed with gold rising 0.5% to $1,751 per ounce, but silver decreasing 0.4% to $22.41.

Oil prices were up with Brent crude trading at $78.19 per barrel for a 1.2% increase. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $74.15 -- a 1.1% gain.