European equities mainly drop amid results flow

European stock markets mostly fell on Friday, as investors digested mixed company results, but Paris advanced amid a rosier outlook, analysts said. Many investors took their cue from Wall Street, which was muted overnight in the face of disappointing jobs and consumer data, dealers said. In late morning deals, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares dropped 0.17 percent to 6,576.83 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.56 percent to 8,252.26 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.54 percent to 3,977.58 points compared with Thursday's close. "The plethora of mixed corporate earnings this morning has resulted in a fairly choppy early session," said IG analyst Brenda Kelly. In London, British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce saw its shares top the fallers board as investors banked recent profits. Roll-Royce shares slid 4.08 percent to 1189.36 pence, having surged the previous day on the back of surging first-half underlying profits. British pay-TV firm BSkyB was the second biggest faller, dropping 3.55 percent to 819.8 pence despite an 8.0-percent gain in annual net profits, and amid investor unease over competition in the sector. London's biggest gainer was British publisher Pearson, whose share price soared by 7.19 percent to 1,342 pence on news of better-than-expected first half revenues. However, the owner of the Financial Times newspaper also revealed that it had swung into a net loss of £8.0 million ($12 million, 9 million euros) in the six months to the end of June. In Frankfurt, shares in German heavy industry giant Thyssenkrupp sank 3.49 percent to 16.75 euros on reports of the planned sale of steel plants in the Americas, dealers said. Deutsche Boerse saw its shares slide 3.43 percent to 52.61 euros after it issued mixed second-quarter results. However in Paris, sentiment was boosted by positive earnings news. Shares in French luxury conglomerate LVMH surged on strong profits, even though the group warned that the economic climate was more difficult. Shares in the LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Guerlain and many other luxury brands, climbed 4.18 percent to 135.85 euros. French luxury and fashion group Kering saw its stock jump 4.30 percent to 178.25 euros. Shares in Safran, which competes with Rolls Royce in making aero engines, rose by 2.74 percent to 44.18 euros. And carmaker Renault added 0.40 percent to 59.92 euros, despite news of plunging first-half net profits, as the board stood by its outlook for the year. However, net profit for the first six months of the year nosedived to 39 million euros, from 746 million euros a year earlier. The Paris stock market was also lifted on Friday by news of upbeat French consumer confidence data. In foreign exchange activity, the euro edged higher to $1.3280 from $1.3275 in New York late on Thursday and the dollar fell to 98.65 yen from 99.20 yen. Sterling was stable against the greenback and European single currency. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $1,329.77 an ounce from $1,326 on Thursday.