UK stocks : FTSE 100 flat
and Fresnillo led fallers, shedding 3.8 and 6.4 percent respectively, after Citigroup recommended selling both on concerns over waning momentum in gold and silver prices, as gold prices slid to a six-month low.
SIDEWAYS TREND
The FTSE 100 finished the week up 1 percent, nearly offsetting last week's decline. The index has traded broadly sideways since Jan. 30 but is up 7.3 percent this year.
"The FTSE 100 cash index bounced off its 20-day simple moving average currently at 6,282 and is resuming its uptrend," Nicolas Suiffet, technical analyst at Trading Central in Paris, said.
"However, sideways trading remains the most likely scenario in the forthcoming days."
A strong start to the year for European stocks has largely stalled since the end of January, as worries about Italy and Spain came back to haunt the euro zone where earnings and economic data offered a less upbeat picture than in the United States.
However, a tendency to focus on the future outlook rather than past disappointments was reflected in global miner Anglo American.
The company reported falling profits and its first loss in over a decade but its shares gained 1.3 percent as investors focused on a brighter outlook and increased dividend.
"Anglo American had an annus horriblis in 2012; it couldn't finish quickly enough as far as they were concerned, but the stock market gave them a pretty positive response today. They are looking ahead to the next year," McCaig said.
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