European equity close: A soft finish to ensure a negative week | Forexlive

There were new highs in several European indexes yesterday but for the second day in a row there was also some heavy selling intraday. That was a sign of looming weakness and it manifest today, though not dramatically.

On the day:

• Stoxx 600 +1.3%
• German DAX -1.4%
• Francis CAC -0.9%
• UK’s FTSE 100 -0.5%
• Spain’s Ibex -1.5%
• Italy’s FTSE MIB -0.9%

On the week:

• Stoxx 600 -0.7%
• German DAX -1.1%
• Francis CAC -1.5%
• UK’s FTSE 100 -0.3%
• Spain’s Ibex -1.3%
• Italy’s FTSE MIB +1.3%

I’m not sure how Italy was able to buck the trend, but that’s three weeks in a row of gains for the MIB and four in the past five. For broader European stock markets, this is just the second negative week of the year and YTD gains range from 6-15%.

I could certainly be convinced the weekly Stoxx 600 share is showing an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern.