Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Friday, amid speculation over a possible near-term end to the U.S. Federal Reserve's asset buying program, while euro zone financial worries persisted.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.49%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.37%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.32%.
Markets were jittery after John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could begin reducing its monetary easing this summer and end bond buying late this year.
Meanwhile, a recent string of downbeat euro zone economic reports weighed on market sentiment.
On Wednesday, data showed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.2% in the three months to March bringing the annualized rate of decline to 0.9%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.07% and 0.39%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank dipped 0.03%.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreating 0.01% and 0.81%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo slid 0.23% and 0.68% respectively.
Elsewhere, FLSmidth & Co. A/S plummeted 6.04% after Europe’s biggest maker of cement production lines reported profit and sales that missed analysts’ estimates for the first quarter.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged down 0.25%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Minng giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw shares slip 0.14% and 0.13%, while Rangold Resources tumbled 1.14%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Barclays fell 0.22% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.67%, while HSBC Holdings added 0.16% and Lloys Banking rose 0.30%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.49%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.37%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.32%.
Markets were jittery after John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said the Fed could begin reducing its monetary easing this summer and end bond buying late this year.
Meanwhile, a recent string of downbeat euro zone economic reports weighed on market sentiment.
On Wednesday, data showed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.2% in the three months to March bringing the annualized rate of decline to 0.9%.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.07% and 0.39%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank dipped 0.03%.
Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreating 0.01% and 0.81%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo slid 0.23% and 0.68% respectively.
Elsewhere, FLSmidth & Co. A/S plummeted 6.04% after Europe’s biggest maker of cement production lines reported profit and sales that missed analysts’ estimates for the first quarter.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged down 0.25%, weighed by losses in mining stocks.
Minng giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw shares slip 0.14% and 0.13%, while Rangold Resources tumbled 1.14%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were mixed. Barclays fell 0.22% and the Royal Bank of Scotland retreated 0.67%, while HSBC Holdings added 0.16% and Lloys Banking rose 0.30%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.12% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.