The German market is in negative territory in afternoon trading Friday, after data from China showed that export and import growth slowed more than expected in July. The Asian markets also closed lower on the Chinese data.
Exports grew just 1 percent year-on-year in July, decelerating from the 11.3 percent growth reported for June, the latest figures from China's General Administration of Customs showed. Overseas purchases increased at a pace of 4.7 percent year-on-year compared to a 6.3 percent rise in June.
Closer home, the U.K.'s output price inflation eased to 1.7 percent in July from a revised 2 percent in June, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is falling 0.76 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.42 percent.
The DAX index is currently falling 0.61 percent.
Commerzbank is losing 2.4 percent after Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank is falling 0.2 percent.
SAP and K+S are notably lower.
Hannover Re reported a marginal increase in second-quarter operating profit that missed analysts' consensus estimates. The stock is falling 3.5 percent.
Fraport is falling 1.3 percent. The owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport reported growth in passenger traffic at all its airports.
Steel giant ThyssenKrupp reported a decline in its third-quarter earnings, but profit and sales beat analysts' estimates. The stock is surging 6 percent.
Deutz is gaining 1.3 percent. UBS raised the stock to "Neutral" from "Sell."
SMA Solar is advancing 1.5 percent on a positive recommendation from UBS.
Elsewhere in Europe, the French CAC 40 is falling 0.90 percent and the UK's FTSE 100 is losing 0.29 percent. Switzerland's SMI is down 0.39 percent.
Across Asia/Pacific, Australia's All Ordinaries fell 0.6 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost about 1 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages remained stuck near the unchanged line throughout the session and ended mixed. The Dow edged down 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 crept up less than a tenth of a percent.
In the commodity space, crude for September delivery is losing $1.13 to $92.23 per barrel and December gold is falling $8.2 to $1612.0 a troy ounce.
by RTT Staff Writer
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