Global Markets News

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, pulled down by uncertainty around a coronavirus stimulus deal, while Tesla shares hit a lifetime high in anticipation of their addition to the S&P 500 next week.

* Indexes down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 500 0.7%, Nasdaq 0.3% (Updates to late afternoon)

* Indexes down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 0.6%, Nasdaq 0.2% (Updates comment, prices)

* Indexes down: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.29%, Nasdaq 0.07% (Updates to market open)

Wall Street's main indexes opened at record highs on Friday, as a coronavirus stimulus package remained in focus ahead of a weekend deadline for a deal, with retail stocks rising on the possibility of strong holiday sales.

* Futures: S&P, Dow and Nasdaq flat (Adds comment, updates prices)

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Friday as major indexes appeared set to take a breather from a series of strong gains, while anticipation of a coronavirus stimulus package grew ahead of a weekend deadline.

* Russell 2000 closes at record high (Updates after market close)

* S&P 500 tech, consumer discretionary sectors hit intraday record highs

* S&P 500 tech, consumer discretionary sectors hit record highs

Several European countries headed for stricter restrictions and new lockdowns as cases surged, while South Africa identified a new variant of the coronavirus, days after Britain said it had also found a new variant of the virus boosting cases.

Swiss baked goods maker Aryzta rejected on Friday an 800 million Swiss franc ($904 million) takeover approach from Elliott Advisors, saying it preferred to go it alone.

A new, downsized Alitalia aims to break even in terms of core profit in 2022, excluding aircraft costs, the state-owned carrier's CEO-elect said on Friday.

* OMV CEO bets on counter-cyclical deals (Adds CEO comment on future refining)

Austria's OMV will not make acquisitions before 2022 while it cements its transition into a chemicals group which increasingly uses less crude oil as feedstock, its chief executive said, diverging from other European oil and gas firms focusing on renewables.

Below are excerpts translated from Russian by Reuters from Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina speaking at an online press conference after the central bank kept its key rate unchanged at 4.25% on Friday.

* Shares down around 5% (Updates shares, adds analyst comment, background)

Rolls-Royce may be the jewel in Britain's industrial crown, but the coronavirus crisis has left the engine-maker facing one of the toughest challenges in its 114-year history.

With consumers under lockdown logging into Nike's workout apps and digital store, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company has been able to gather additional data on purchasing habits, personal information and exercise routines of tens of millions of people.

* Philips shares rise 2% (Adds share price move, new CEO quotes, more detail)