European stock markets closed lower on Friday, but ended with modest gains for the week, with weakness in metals and oil companies outweighing positive earnings news from Volkswagen AG and Puma AG.
The German DAX XETRA 30 index eased 0.7 percent at 5,701, the French CAC 40 index fell 0.9 percent at 4,910 and the British FTSE 100 index edged down 0.8 percent at 5,764.
US stocks helped pressure European markets by opening lower after a disappointing profit outlook from Pfizer Inc and a wider-than-expected December trade deficit.
However, auto stocks limited the downside. The sector climbed 1.7 percent, led by gains from Volkswagen, which advanced 10 percent after it posted a much higher annual profit than forecast and said it expects to slash up to 20,000 jobs in the next three years. VW also announced a buyback of nearly 42 million shares.
"The details were patchy, but tough talk on the progress of the ForMotion Plus restructuring program, including projected headcount cuts of up to 20,000 over three years, together with the proposed cancellation of the treasury share, is probably enough to make some investors believe this is the beginning of a new era," said Michael Tyndall, an analyst at Nomura Securities.
"We are a little more circumspect; there has been more than one false dawn," he said.
French car maker Renault was also helping the sector, ending 4.3 percent higher. The company experienced mixed trading Thursday after it released results for last year and outlined margin targets.
Oil stocks such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell declined as crude futures declined to US$62 a barrel. The International Energy Agency trimmed its oil demand forecast for this year to 1.78 million barrels of oil a day from 1.83 million barrels.
Technology stocks such as Nokia and Ericsson and semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics ASML and Infineon Technologies were another drag on markets.
Dutch bank ABN Amro downgraded the semiconductor sector to neutral from overweight, saying it's close to a cyclical peak. It also cut French-listed STMicroelectronics to hold from buy, saying investors should be cautious on companies with broad exposure to the cycle.
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