European Stocks Fall, Germany Shares Hammered

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled Friday, erasing weekly gains amid escalating tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine. German shares were hit especially hard.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks lost 1.3 percent.

The German DAX fell 1.5 percent and the French CAC 40 lost 0.80 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.26 percent.

Continental dropped 3 percent. The automotive supplier plans to increase sales by five percent in 2014 and expects capital expenditure to again equal around six percent of sale.

In Paris, Peugeot fell 3.6 percent after reporting slight growth.

WPP is falling around 1 percent. The advertising giant reported a modest growth in revenue for the first quarter.

In economic news from the U.S., the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final April reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 84.1, beating an expectation of 83.0 in a Reuters survey and up from 80.0 the month before.

The preliminary April reading was 82.6. The headline number was the highest reading since last July.

U.K. retail sales unexpectedly rose for a second straight month in March, suggesting that consumer spending is set to lead the economic recovery that is gaining momentum.

Retail sales including automotive fuel rose 0.1 percent month-on-month, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.