Global Stocks Steady at End of Choppy Week

By Christopher Whittall and Tommy Stubbington 

        Global stocks steadied at the end of a volatile week in which China's currency devaluation rattled markets.
        Although a small rise in the Chinese yuan on Friday further reassured investors that the currency has stabilized, European markets gave up early gains after lackluster growth data from the eurozone.
        The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 0.1% lower, and has fallen nearly 3% this week.
        In the U.S., the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed as European markets closed. U.S. stocks are broadly flat for the week after some big swings in recent days.
        Earlier, Asian markets steadied.
        "People are very, very nervous" about China, said James Sym, an equities fund manager at Schroders PLC, which oversees $487 billion in assets.
        Mr. Sym is avoiding stocks with exposure to China, and said German car manufacturers and luxury-goods firms were particularly at risk. He is instead focusing on companies that will benefit from a domestic European recovery.
        "We are very careful about Chinese exposure," he said.
        On Friday, China's central bank set the daily rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar slightly higher than the previous day's fix.
        The yuan finished up 0.1% against the U.S. dollar Friday, but was still down almost 3% this week after the People's Bank of China devalued the currency Tuesday.
        "Although nervousness remains, a slightly higher [yuan] fixing this morning has dampened volatility," said Mitul Kotecha, a strategist at Barclays, in a note.
        Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.4% lower, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.1%. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.3% higher.
        The euro fell 0.4% against the dollar to $1.1133
        Eurozone gross domestic product growth slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter from 0.4% in the first, the European Union statistical agency said Friday. German growth accelerated slightly, while French GDP was unchanged, the countries' respective data agencies revealed.
        "Overall, Germany and France have grown at a similar pace" during the first half of the year, said Dominic Bryant, an economist at BNP Paribas SA, in a note.
        "This is solid but a little less than hoped for a few months ago," he added.
        Brent crude oil fell 0.4% to $49.42, while gold was down 0.3% at $1,112.50 a troy ounce.
        Write to Christopher Whittall at christopher.whittall@wsj.com and Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        August 14, 2015 12:23 ET (16:23 GMT)