Dow ends big week of gains at fresh record

Strong US retail sales lifted the Dow to a fourth straight record Friday as global equity markets finished a big week of gains on a muted note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average record came after a robust June US retail sales report gave further evidence of momentum in the world's biggest economy.

US stocks otherwise showed signs of fatigue, with the S&P 500 ending modestly lower, snapping a streak of four straight records.

"We've had an incredible run," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade. "Things don't continue to go straight up."

European equities, which also had big gains for the week, finished in indecisive fashion after a deadly attack in Nice, France, darkened sentiment.

Paris dipped, while London posted modest gains and Frankfurt was flat.

"There was an understandably muted tone to the markets... the latest (of) tragedies in France making everything seem a bit frivolous," said Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex trading group.

Asian equities were buoyed by a report showing Chinese economic growth at a better-than-expected 6.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter. Bourses in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong all rose.

The encouraging China data also boosted oil prices, while the dollar gained against the euro and other major currencies following the solid US retail sales data.

- Travel, airlines suffer -

Travel and airline stocks were under pressure in both Europe and the US after the French attack that killed at least 84 people, including 10 children, as a giant truck mowed through a crowd celebrating France's national holiday on Thursday night. The attack was a new blow to France's tourism sector already reeling from repeated terror strikes.

French group Accor Hotels lost 3.0 percent, while British airline EasyJet shed 2.6 percent. US-listed cruise companies Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Lines lost 2.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the broader US stock market was not significantly moved by the Nice calamity.

"The limited losses show... how senseless acts of terrorism don't resonate fully in capital markets unless they are perceived to have a material economic impact," he said.

"There is certain to be some economic fallout in France, yet the ripple effect to the global economy of this latest terrorist act is considered largely to be de minimis."

Among individual stocks, US banking giant Wells Fargo dropped 2.5 percent as it reported second-quarter earnings of $1.01 per share, meeting expectations. The bank said it continued to face pressure from soured loans to the troubled oil and gas industry.

Japanese game maker Nintendo jumped another 9.8 percent, its latest gain in the wake of the Pokemon Go phenomenon sweeping the planet.

Messaging app Line rocketed up 32 percent in its Tokyo trading debut Friday a day after an eye-popping jump in its New York launch, as investors cheered the year's biggest technology share sale.

- Key figures at 2100 GMT -

New York - DOW: UP 0.1 percent at 18,516.55 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,161.74 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,029.59 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 6,669.24 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 10,066.90 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 4,372.51 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,958.65 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 16,497.85 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.5 percent at 21,659.25 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.28 point at 3,054.30 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.79 yen from 105.43 yen Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3174 from $1.3304

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1041 from $1.1118