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Eurozone equities sag as British pound wins GDP boost

Britain's pound surged after judges ruled London needed parliamentary approval to trigger Brexit

The British pound rallied briefly Thursday on brighter-than-expected economic growth data, while eurozone stock markets sagged amid a dearth of news from the region.

Sterling bounced after official data showed that Britain's economy grew by 0.5 percent in the three months following the country's referendum in favour of exiting the European Union.

The currency shot as high as $1.2272 and strengthened to just above 89 pence against the euro in morning deals, before trimming gains.

"The GDP data initially boosted the pound which had a negative impact on the FTSE and pushed it into the red," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

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"The FTSE appears to benefit more from declines in the pound as opposed to good economic data at the moment, as it has substantial exposure outside of the UK."

A stronger pound weighs on exporters, making their goods more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies.

After earlier losses, the London stock exchange reversed direction by mid afternoon, and was 0.1 percent higher in value compared with Wednesday's close.

British housebuilder Barratt Developments slumped in London after its stock went ex-dividend, meaning that it no longer carries the right to the most recently declared shareholder payout.

Barratt's share price tanked 4.2 percent to 432.30 pence, topping the fallers' board in London.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.2 percent and the Paris CAC 40 was 0.1 percent down.

"Indices are looking quite vulnerable to downside moves at the moment... and what is lacking today is any catalyst that could provide the spark for such a move," Erlam added.

- Deutsche Bank surprises -

Despite Frankfurt being down overall, Deutsche Bank shares firmed 0.6 percent at 13.38 euros in mid afternoon trades after the troubled German lender posted a surprise third-quarter net profit.

Deutsche's financial health has been in the spotlight ever since the US Department of Justice last month sought an unaffordable $14 billion fine over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis -- sparking fears it might have to raise fresh capital.

"A surprise move into profit for Deutsche Bank has allayed some of the fears that sent shares in Germany?s biggest bank into freefall," noted IG analyst Joshua Mahony.

US stocks opened higher following a plethora of mostly solid earnings, including from Tesla Motors and Twitter.

In other corporate news, US semiconductor maker Qualcomm said it would buy Dutch rival NXP in a $47-billion megadeal, sending shares in both higher.

Most Asian stock markets turned lower for a second day, with energy firms struggling after another sell-off in oil fuelled by concerns about a planned output cut.

Crude prices are languishing at three-month lows after OPEC member Iraq and non-member Russia suggested this week they would not take part in any limitations, despite a painful global supply glut.

Their comments have raised questions about the viability of last month's agreement by oil cartel OPEC to reduce output, which had sent prices soaring.

While edging up slightly Thursday, oil prices have tumbled more than three percent this week and news that US stockpiles had fallen more than expected last week was unable to provide much support.

- Key figures around 1355 GMT -

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2210 from $1.2242 Wednesday

Euro/pound: UP to 89.36 pence from 89.09 pence

Euro/dollar: UP to $1.0916 from $1.0907

Dollar/yen: UP to 104.89 yen from 104.51 yen

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 6,967.69 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,685.12

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,530.59

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,074.82

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,336.42 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent to 18,225.05

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 18 cents at $49.36 per barrel

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 30 cents at $50.28