European Stocks Close Lower
European stocks closed sharply lower for a second session on Friday, remaining under pressure from exaggerated valuations for US tech giants while Federal Reserve members pushed back against the certainty of a rate cut for their next meeting.
Heavyweight banks led the losses in the Eurozone, pressured by a sharp upturn in benchmark bond yields, with UniCredit sinking 4.5% while Intesa Sanpaolo, Santander, and BBVA, fell between 3.5% and 2.5%. In the meantime, SAP, Prosus, Infineon, and Nokia tracked their US counterparts to fall between 4% and 1.5%.
In contrast, Richemont shares jumped more than 7% after the company reported rising sales driven by strong demand in the US and China. Also, Allianz rose 1%after posting record results in the first nine months of the year.
On the week, the STOXX 50 gained 2.3% and the STOXX 600 rose 1.8%, with both indices touching record highs earlier in the week.
Source: Tradingeconomics.com