Sawt Falasteen - Tech rally loses steam, leaves Wall Street adrift

Shares in AI processor manufacturer Nvidia, largely responsible for driving the equity rally, retreated 2.1 percent on Friday after having tumbled 3.5 percent on Thursday as profit-taking set in.

"Nvidia's reversal had a lot to do with the Nasdaq breaking a seven-session win streak," said market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

"It basically took the wind out of the market and became a cue for profit-taking activity in other momentum-fuelled stocks," he added.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index, the blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 were all marginally lower in late morning trading.

O'Hare described the situation as "normal at this point for a market -- and some specific stocks -- that have come a long way in a short amount of time and are due for some consolidation."

On the corporate front, British soft drinks manufacturer Britvic fizzed nearly eight percent higher following news that it has rejected a takeover approach worth £3.1-billion ($3.9 billion) from Danish beer giant Carlsberg, arguing that it significantly undervalued the maker of Robinsons squash.

With focus on European political uncertainty ahead of a French snap election, data Friday showed growth of business activity in the eurozone slowed down in June after the manufacturing sector posted its biggest decline in six months.

The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index published by S&P Global recorded a figure of 50.8, down from 52.2 in May and its lowest level in three months.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth, while a figure below 50 shows contraction.

"There wasn't a single reading that managed to beat expectations or that came in above last month's numbers," noted David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

Shares in Paris closed the day down 0.6 percent, while Frankfurt shed 0.5 percent.

In the UK, the private sector grew at its slowest rate for seven months in June, as goods and services inflation remained stubbornly high and firms put spending decisions on hold until after the general election.

Investors also digested mixed official economic data before Britain's upcoming vote on July 4, with main opposition Labour tipped to comfortably beat the governing Conservatives.

UK state debt ballooned in May to reach levels not seen for more than 60 years, underscoring the perilous state of the public purse for the next government.

Public sector net debt as a proportion of gross domestic product rose to 99.8 percent in May. That marked the highest reading since March 1961.

At the same time, retail sales rebounded 2.9 percent in May from the prior month on strong demand for clothing and furniture.

London's blue-chip FTSE 100 stock index slid 0.4 percent.

Asian traders tracked Thursday's weak performance on Wall Street, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all down.

- Key figures around 1530 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 39,094.16 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,465.35

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 17,714.08

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,237.72 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,628.57 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.5 percent at 18,163.52 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 4,907.30 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 38,596.47 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.7 percent at 18,028.52 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,998.14 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0685 from $1.0705 on Thursday

Euro/pound: UP at 84.62 pence from 84.56 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.53 yen from 158.91 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2626 from $1.2657

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $81.44 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $85.92 per barrel

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J.AbuHassan--SF-PST