LONDON — European stock markets were down in mid-morning trading on Thursday, with the FTSE MIB in Milan leading the way.
The Italian market dropped 0.6 percent to 19,374.17, followed by the FTSE 100 in London, 0.5 percent to 7,296.12. The DAX in Frankfurt dipped 0.3 percent to 11,936.76, followed by the CAC 40 in Paris, 0.1 percent to 4955.44.
The euro traded at $1.06, while the pound fetched $1.22 and the Swiss franc equaled $0.99 at 11:15 a.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were uneven, with the morning’s biggest gainers including Joules Group, 1.8 percent to 2.55 pounds; Gemfields, 2.1 percent to 0.45 pounds; Debenhams, 1.3 percent to 0.53 pounds, and Inditex, 1.3 percent to 31.33 euros.
Among the stocks that lost the most ground were Yoox Net-a-porter Group, 1.7 percent to 21.96 euros; Italia Independent, 2.8 percent to 4.19 euros, and French Connection, 1.8 percent to 0.35 pounds.
Carrefour declined 4 percent to 21.81 euros after the company reported earlier in the day that net income for 2016 fell 7.4 percent as ongoing challenges in its core domestic market dented profits.