Investing.com - European stocks declined on Friday, as concerns over a possible Greek default continued to weigh on equity markets and overshadowed an upbeat report on German factory orders.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.88%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.92%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.87%.
Sentiment weakened after Greece on Thursday told the International Monetary Fund it would delay a debt payment of about $339 million due Friday, submitting a request to bundle payments totaling about $1.7 billion due this month into one payment.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has rejected proposals by creditors to help unlock more aid to help with repayments. Following late night talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "we’re still far from reaching a conclusion."
Markets shrugged off earlier official data showing that German factory orders increased by 1.4% in April, beating expectations for a 0.5% gain. The change in factory orders for March was revised to a 1.1% rise from a previously estimated 0.9% uptick.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) dropped 0.83% and 0.42%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) declined 0.52%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) retreated 0.45% and 0.65%, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) slid 0.50% and 0.68% respectively.
Elsewhere, Syngenta AG (SIX:SYNN) plummeted 2.18% after rising sharply in the previous session amid reports BASF SE (XETRA:BASFN) is considering an offer to buy the Swiss maker of agrochemicals.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.37%, weighed by IG Group Holdings (LONDON:IGG), whose shares tumbled 1.33% following reports the brokerage breached U.K. trading rules during the Swiss franc rally earlier this year.
Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) Group PLC (LONDON:VOD) added to losses, as shares dropped 0.90% after saying it is in early discussions with Liberty Global Plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) regarding a "possible exchange of selected assets between the two companies."
In the financial sector, stocks were also broadly lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged down 0.11% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) slipped 0.14%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slid 0.35% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) retreated 0.64%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were on the upside. Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) gained 0.45% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) advanced 0.75%, while rivals Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) rallied 0.93% and 1.47% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on nonfarm payrolls.