European stocks end week lower, French yields surge, oil tops $103

European equity markets closed mixed on Friday as traders headed for the weekend, but all major benchmarks recorded weekly declines. Spain and Italy gained during the session, while Germany, France and the UK ended lower.

The closing levels and weekly changes were as follows:

• Germany's DAX fell 0.86% on the day and 1.84% on the week, closing at 25,152.30.
• France's CAC 40 dropped 0.36% on the day and 2.19% on the week, at 7,782.83.
• The UK FTSE 100 declined 0.32% on the day and 1.76% on the week, ending at 10,690.37.
• Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.40% on the day but fell 1.74% on the week, to 18,989.81.
• Italy's FTSE MIB added 0.36% on the day but dropped 2.60% on the week, to 48,558.85.

Italy's bounce on Friday was not enough to prevent it from posting the biggest weekly loss among the five markets.

Market breadth reflected the day's divergence. Germany had 24 decliners versus 14 advancers; France had 24 decliners against 16 advancers; the UK had 53 falling stocks versus 38 rising. Spain and Italy recorded more gainers than losers, consistent with their positive sessions.

French bonds were the week's standout move

The European bond market showed a split. German and UK 10-year yields decreased over the week, while French and Italian yields rose. Spain's yield was unchanged. French yields climbed as budget gridlock, a large deficit and worsening protests raised doubts about the government's ability to control its debt. Investors demanded a higher premium to hold French bonds, with the risk of a Moody's credit-rating downgrade adding to pressure. The French 10-year yield reached its highest since 2002.

The weekly changes in benchmark 10-year yields were:

• Germany: down 7.4 basis points
• France: up 16.7 basis points
• UK: down 3.8 basis points
• Spain: unchanged
• Italy: up 7.0 basis points

France remained the focus. Its 10-year yield eased 6.2 basis points on Friday to 5.018%, offering some relief, but that did little to reverse the weekly increase.

As German yields dropped and French yields advanced, the gap between French and German 10-year yields widened by 24.1 basis points over the week, a significant divergence. French bonds underperformed while German bonds attracted buying.

On Friday, Germany's 10-year yield rose 1.4 basis points to 3.346%, the UK yield added 2.7 basis points to 5.361%, Spain's yield edged up 0.2 basis points to 4.046%, and Italy's yield slipped 0.2 basis points to 4.580%.

US stocks are mixed as Treasury yields rebound

Technology shares attempted a recovery following the previous session's selloff, but the bounce failed to lift the entire market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 500 points, and the S&P 500 also posted a slight decline.

As of the snapshot:

• Dow industrial average: 52,387.25, down 486.03 points or 0.92%
• S&P 500: 7,653.87, down 9.56 points or 0.12%
• Nasdaq Composite: 26,077.58, up 68.72 points or 0.26%
• Nasdaq 100: 29,117.39, up 158.71 points or 0.55%
• Russell 2000: 2,777.65, down 6.38 points or 0.23%

The Nasdaq indexes saw a bounce, while the Dow and small-cap stocks lagged. Buyers attempted to stabilize technology shares, but the broader market still has work to do.

U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the largest gains at the short end of the curve:

• 2-year: 4.6946%, up 6.0 basis points
• 5-year: 4.8120%, up 4.4 basis points
• 10-year: 4.9904%, up 3.7 basis points
• 30-year: 5.3114%, up 2.4 basis points

The 10-year yield came within one basis point of the 5% level.

Oil jumps above $103. Gold and silver retreat

Crude oil was the most notable commodity mover. The front-month contract traded at $103.03, gaining $3.56 or 3.58%. This brought oil decisively above $100, keeping energy costs in the spotlight as bond yields recovered. Brent crude traded above $117.

Gold was trading near a key round number at $4,003.03, down $21.48 or 0.53%. Silver also fell, losing 0.87% to $54.10. Both metals declined as U.S. yields rose.

Bitcoin strengthened to $81,532, up $2,160 or 2.72%, while natural gas advanced 1.97% to $6.524.

The week concluded with losses across major European equity markets, a sharp widening of France's yield premium over Germany, and crude oil above $103. Gains on Friday in Spain, Italy and U.S. technology shares provided some relief, but buying remained selective.