European shares finished Friday’s session little changed having swung between gains and losses all day.

Among the factors, the US trade gap grew by much more than economists had predicted and there was an unexpected drop in US consumer sentiment. There was also concern about data showing German and French third-quarter GDP growth came in below expectations. British Airways and Iberia both rose on their merger news. Banks were mixed. HSBC was up on hopes it would pay a bigger dividend BNP Paribas, Commerzbank and Credit Suisse slipped and shares in Natixis tumbled as the French investment bank’s first quarterly profit in over a year failed to please investors. Crude oil prices fell as bulging fuel inventories in the United States highlighted the weakness of demand.More about: Markets

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