European shares slip; safe-havens gain on attempted Turkish coup

By Sam Forgione

NEW YORK (Reuters) – European shares edged lower on Friday after at least 84 people died in an attack in France and U.S. stocks dipped from record peaks, while benchmark U.S. Treasury yields eased off three-week highs after the close of U.S. stock markets as Turkey’s military said it had seized power.

Shares of European travel and leisure companies fell, weighing on the region’s stock markets, after the attack in the city of Nice, which also injured scores of people.

The benchmark S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average stock indexes edged up to fresh record intraday highs on stronger-than-expected June retail sales data before trading mostly flat, with financials weighing after disappointing results from big banks.

Safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, gold, and the Japanese yen got a bid after Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a group within Turkey’s military had attempted to overthrow the government and security forces had been called in to “do what is necessary.”

Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were last at 1.5578 percent after hitting a three-week high of 1.601 percent on Friday. The dollar was last down 0.47 percent against the yen at 104.83 yen after hitting a three-week high of 106.30.

Oil prices extended gains in post-settlement trading, and spot gold prices got a boost after Turkey’s armed forces said they had taken power in the country to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights.

“The instability in the region probably puts a bit more focus on the U.S. as a safe-haven environment,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama, on the attempted uprising in Turkey.

The S&P hit 2,169.05, topping Thursday’s record intraday peak and marking its fifth straight record intraday high, and the Dow hit 18,557.43, its fourth consecutive record peak. The S&P 500 hit record closing highs for four straight days earlier this week, while the Dow hit record closing peaks for three straight days.

Data showing China’s economy grew a slightly stronger-than-expected 6.7 percent in the second quarter bolstered MSCI’s all-country world equity index to an eight-month high of 412.63.

MSCI’s all-country world stock index was last down 0.48 points, or 0.12 percent, at 411.22.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 10.14 points, or 0.05 percent, at 18,516.55. The S&P 500 closed down 2.01 points, or 0.09 percent, at 2,161.74. The Nasdaq Composite closed down 4.47 points, or 0.09 percent, at 5,029.59.

Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.15 percent at 1,335.71.

“It was a bit of a reversion to the mean,” said Chuck Self, chief investment officer of iSectors in Appleton, Wisconsin, on the rally in U.S. shares losing steam.

Brent crude was last up 1.86 percent, at $48.25 a barrel after settling up 0.5 percent, at $47.61.U.S. crude was last up 0.59 percent, at $46.28 per barrel after settling up 0.6 percent, at $45.95.

Spot gold was last up 0.21 percent, at $1,337.45 an ounce. Gold was still set for its first weekly loss since May.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London and Karen Brettell and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)