European Stocks Close Sharply Lower On Growth Worries

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, weighed down by heavy selling in the banking sector after reports that Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group are among the banks under scrutiny in a U.S. Justice Department probe for potentially helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions.

Concerns about the recent turmoil in the banking industries, and signs of further monetary tighening by several central banks hurt as well.

The pan European Stoxx 600 fell 1.37%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended 1.26% down, Germany's DAX slid 1.66% and France's CAC 40 drifted down 1.74%, while Switzerland's SMI lost 0.79%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended with sharp losses.

Belgium and Turkiye posted moderate losses, while Denmark and Russia closed higher.

In the UK market, Standard Chartered tumbled nearly 6.5%. Ashtead Group declined 5.26%, while Barclays and JD Sports Fashion both lost about 4.2%.

CRH, Prudential, Natwest Group, Shell, Weir Group, Scottish Mortgage, WPP, Smurfit Kappa Group, ABRDN, Kingfisher, IAG, HSBC Holdings, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Antofagasta lost 2.5 to 4%.

Reckitt Benckiser climbed more than 2%. British American Tobacco gained 1.72%, Beazley surged 1.35% and Diageo advanced 1.01%.

In the German market, Deutsche Bank plunged more than 8% after a jump in default insurance costs. Commerzbank lost about 5%.

Infineon Technologies, Vonovia, Siemens Energy, Daimler, Covestro, Zalando, RWE, Siemens, Deutsche Post, Volkswagen, Puma, Continental, Porsche and Fresenius shed 2 to 5%.

Merch rallied more than 2%. Hannover Rueck and Henkel posted modest gains.

In Paris, Societe Generale, Saint Gobain, Schneider Electric, BNP Paribas, Legrand, Publicis Groupe and Alstom lost 4 to 6%.

Renault, WorldLine, TotalEnergies, Veolia, Bouygues, Vinci, Unibail Rodamco, Engie, Airbus Group and Michelin also declined sharply.

Sanofi gained more than 1%, climbing higher for a second successive session.

In the Swiss market, Credit Suisse lost more than 5% and UBS Group shed about 3.6%.

In economic news, UK consumer sentiment improved further in March to its highest level in a year as Britons assessment of the economy and their willingness to make big purchases strengthened, survey results from the market research group GfK showed on Friday.

British consumers' confidence strengthened to a one-year high in March driven by the rising willingness to buy and improved assessment about the overall economy, separate survey results from the market research group GfK revealed.

The consumer confidence index rose to -36 in March from -38 in February. That was inline with economists' forecast.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK retail sales grew at the fastest pace in four months in February, rising 1.2% on a monthly basis, following a revised 0.9% rise in January. The pace of expansion was forecast to ease to 0.2%. This was the biggest monthly rise since October 2022.

The UK private sector registered another increase in activity in March, reflecting robust performance by the service economy, flash survey results from S&P Global showed on Friday.

The flash Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply composite output index posted 52.2 in March, down from February's eight-month high of 53.1 and economists' forecast of 52.7. Nonetheless, the reading was above the 50.0 no-change mark.

Eurozone private sector logged the strongest growth in ten months in March underpinned by the robust expansion in services activity though the manufacturing sector remained stuck in the contraction zone. The flash composite output index rose more-than-expected to 54.1 in March from 52.0 in February, survey results from S&P Global showed. The expected score was 51.9.