European Markets Fall, But Hugo Boss Climbs On Upgrade

(RTTNews) - The European markets are in negative territory on Friday, ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at the Fed Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming which is expected to give clues regarding U.S. interest rate decisions.

European Central Bank's governor Mario Draghi and Bank of Japan's governor Haruhiko Kuroda are also attending the meeting of the world's top central bankers and economists in Jackson Hole.

On a day of light economic news from the region, France's leading index, which measures the future economic activity, remained unchanged in June from the previous month, results of a survey by the Conference Board showed.

The leading index remained flat in June, after a revised 0.2 percent fall registered in the previous month. Out of the seven components, three of them contributed positively to the index.

The U.K.'s house price sentiment index rose at the slowest pace in five months in August, results of a survey by Knight Frank and Markit Economics showed. The house price sentiment index, an indicator of house price trends, fell to 61.8 in August from 62.4 in July.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is losing 0.67 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.33 percent.

The German DAX and the French CAC 40 are falling 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. The UK's FTSE 100 and Switzerland's SMI are modestly lower.

In Frankfurt, sports goods giant adidas is losing 2.3 percent and carrier Lufthansa is down 1.2 percent.

Detergent maker Henkel and diversified chemicals firm Bayer are down around 1 percent each.

Meanwhile, Hugo Boss is gaining close to 3 percent. Deutsche Bank raised the stock to "Buy" from "Hold."

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are moderately higher.

In Paris, Technip is losing 1.6 percent and Schneider Electric is falling 1.5 percent.

Total and EDF are losing 1.4 percent each.

However, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole are in positive territory.

In London, easyJet is falling 1.7 percent and SSE is down 1.1 percent.

Petrofac is falling 1.4 percent after announcing the stepping down of its chairman.

London Stock Exchange is moderately lower, after announcing a rights issue.

Goldman Sachs raised Lonmin to "Conviction Buy List" from "Neutral." The stock is gaining 3 percent.

The Asian stocks rose broadly as easing geopolitical concerns and a string of upbeat U.S. economic reports spurred optimism over the course of the global economy.

In the U.S., futures point to a cautious open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Dow rose 0.4 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 0.1 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent.

Crude for October delivery is falling $0.43 to $93.53 per barrel, while gold is rising $6.8 to $1282.2 a troy ounce.