Investing.com - European stocks declined on Friday, as investors remained cautious amid ongoing speculation over a potential U.S. rate hike next month.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.44%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.35%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.45%.
Investors were eyeing the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later Friday, which could reinforce expectations for higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) dipped 0.05% and 0.07%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) added 0.17% and 0.34%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) slid 0.24% and 0.58% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) lost 0.08% and 0.17%.
Elsewhere, Nokian Renkaat Oyj (HEL:NRE1V) plunged 6.12% after the Finnish tiremaker downgraded its outlook following disappointing second-quarter profit and sales.
Also on the downside, Allianz (XETRA:ALVG) SE tumbled 1.34% as Europe’s biggest insurer said second-quarter profit increased by 15%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.13%, weighed by pharmaceutical company Shire PLC (LONDON:SHP), whose shares plummeted 1.53% after announcing earlier in the week announced that it proposed a $30 billion takeover of US company Baxalta, in a move to create "the global leader in rare diseases."
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) and Antofagasta (LONDON:ANTO) rallied 2.11% and 2.20% respectively, while rivals Anglo American (LONDON:AAL) and Glencore (LONDON:GLEN) surged 2.67% and 2.80%.
In the financial sector, stocks were steady to higher. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) inched up 0.04% and 0.05% respectively, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rose 0.27%. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) underperformed on the other hand, slipping 0.21%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.10% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% decline.