UK Market Edges Up, Carillion Surges

(RTTNews) - The UK market is trading slightly higher on Thursday, even after weak economic data from the region dampened investor sentiment across Europe, amid lingering geo-political concerns.

Data showed that German economy contracted more-than-expected in the second quarter on weaker exports and investment, while France stagnated for the second straight time, forcing the government to discard its 2014 deficit target.

Meanwhile, Eurozone inflation slowed as initially estimated in July to the lowest since late 2009, final figures from Eurostat showed.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is losing 0.69 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.18 percent.

The FTSE 100 index is currently rising 0.06 percent.

Construction firm Carillion is gaining 7 percent. The company announced first-half results as well as details about its offer for Balfour Beatty that was rejected by the infrastructure group recently. Balfour Beatty is up over 1 percent.

TUI Travel is gaining 2 percent and Petrofac is adding 1.4 percent.

Land Securities and Intu Properties are advancing around 1.2 percent each.

Rio Tinto is losing 2.1 percent and Glencore Xstrata is falling 1.3 percent.

Most other major markets in the region are falling.

The Asian stocks ended mixed after three days of gains.

In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, stocks rose notably overnight despite a weaker-than-expected report on retail sales and some disappointing earnings reports. The Dow rose 0.6 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained a percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent.

Crude for September delivery is falling $0.22 to $97.37 per barrel, while gold is adding $2.2 to $1316.7 a troy ounce.