By Sara Sjolin and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch , Tommy
Stubbington
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- German insurer Allianz AG tumbled in
late afternoon trading on Friday, leaving the German DAX 30 index
to underperform in an otherwise up day, after famed asset manager
Bill Gross resigned from Pimco, a subsidiary owned by the
company.
The main benchmarks started out in the red, but gradually moved
higher throughout the session, as U.S. stock futures rose and the
regular Wall Street trading session started on an up note. On
Thursday, both European and U.S. stock markets closed sharply
lower, with the S&P 500 index (SPX) and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJI) suffering their worst losses since July
31.
On Friday, the Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.3% to close at
342.30, although that wasn't enough to send it into positive
territory for the week. The pan-European benchmark posted a 1.8%
weekly loss, following a week with lackluster German data and
worries about Chinese growth.
Bill Gross exits, Allianz drops: Germany's DAX 30 index , which
is down 3.2% on the week, eased 0.2% to 9,490.55 on Friday. News
that Gross had resigned to join Janus Capital Group (JNS) helped
push the index lower, as the news appeared to shock the market.
Allianz was the top decliner in Europe, tumbling 6.2%. Read: A tale
of two firms: Allianz slides as Gross exits, Janus jumps
Shares of Adidas AG also weighed on the German index, falling
1.2%, while its rival Nike Inc. (NKE) rallied in the U.S. after
upbeat results.
Across other indexes, France's CAC 40 rose 0.9% to 4,394.75,
buoyed by a 2.3% gain for oil giant Total SA (TOT).
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 6,649.39, but closed out
the week 2.8% lower.
In currencies, the dollar (USDRUB) surged to an all-time high
against the ruble at 39.143 rubles, up 1.7%, according to
FactSet.
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