Europe Flat Friday; Banks Fall

European markets were flat as of 6:00 a.m. EST.

The FTSE was down 0.02%. Northern Rock jumped 9.3%. Rentokil Initial (RTOKY.PK +2.6%) made back some of yesterday's losses. Anglo American (AAUK) fell 3.5%. BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RTP) fell 1.9% and 1.6% respectively.

The CAC fell 0.3%. Vivendi gained 1%. Air France-KLM (AKH) was down almost 2%.

The Dax gained 0.01%. E.On (EONGY.PK) gained 0.9%. SAP (SAP) lost a point.

Bank stocks were lower in Europe as traders failed to perceive a noteworthy change in credit-market liquidity, despite a joint effort of central banks in North American and Europe to open up additional sources of credit (full story). "Even after the central banks injected funds, there's reluctance between banks to lend," one fund manager remarked.

Sources: Bloomberg
Additional Reading: Asia Friday: Japan, Hong Kong Fall; Shanghai Gains

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