European Markets Sank On Decreased Risk Appetite

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Friday's session solidly in negative territory. Investor sentiment took a hit after the sharp sell-off on Wall Street overnight and the weak performance of the Asian markets. The Bank of Japan's surprise decision to refrain from adding stimulus measures and yesterday's disappointing U.S. GDP data continued to weigh on the markets.

Investors exited riskier investments at the end of the week in favor of safe havens. Gold prices were sharply higher Friday and silver prices advanced to a 15-month high. Mining and resource stocks benefitted from the surge in metal prices.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 3.11 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 2.45 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 2.73 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 2.82 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 1.27 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 1.71 percent.

In Frankfurt, Puma fell 3.38 percent. The sportswear firm issued a cautious outlook for full-year sales and profitability after reporting a 4 percent rise in first-quarter profit.

Deutsche Bank decreased 4.84 percent and Commerzbank lost 2.91 percent.

BMW weakened by 3.87 percent and Daimler surrendered 3.35 percent. Volkswagen also finished lower by 4.20 percent.

In Paris, pharmaceutical giant Sanofi tumbled 5.36 percent, a day after revealing that it has made an unsolicited all-cash takeover offer worth $9.3 billion for Medivation Inc.

BNP Paribas dropped 4.16 percent and Societe Generale fell 3.97 percent. Credit Agricole also closed down by 3.41 percent.

Renault declined 4.51 percent and Peugeot lost 3 percent.

In London, Shire jumped 1.77 percent, after its first quarter EPS rose to $3.19 from $2.84 last year. Expectations were for EPS of $3.05.

British Airways parent IAG dropped 4.72 percent after cutting its full-year capacity growth target.

Shares of Restaurant Group plummeted 26.50 percent after the owner of Chiquito and Frankie & Benny's brands issued a 2016 profit warning and announced departure of its finance director.

Britain's largest state-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland shed 6.05 percent after its first-quarter net loss widened from last year.

Reinsurer Swiss Re dropped 3.73 percent in Zurich, after its quarterly profit fell and the company said it foresees a challenging environment.

Credit Suisse declined 4.08 percent after it held its Annual General Meeting.

The euro area economic growth accelerated more than expected in the first quarter, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Friday. Gross domestic product climbed 0.6 percent from prior quarter, following a 0.3 percent rise in the fourth quarter. Economists had forecast the growth rate to improve marginally to 0.4 percent.

Eurozone consumer prices dropped in April on falling energy prices and a slowdown in service costs, flash data from Eurostat showed Friday. The harmonized consumer price index fell 0.2 percent annually, after staying flat in March. Prices had declined 0.2 percent in February. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent drop for April.

Eurozone jobless rate declined for the first time in three months in March to its lowest level in four-and-a-half years, figures from Eurostat showed Friday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 10.2 percent, the lowest figure since August 2011, when it was the same. In July that year, the rate was 10.1 percent.

German retail sales dropped unexpectedly in March, figures published by Destatis revealed Friday. Sales slid by real 1.1 percent from February, when it remained flat. This was the first decline in seven months. Economists had forecast a 0.4 percent increase.

The French economy expanded at a faster pace in the first quarter largely driven by a rebound in household spending, the statistical office Insee reported Friday. Gross domestic product grew 0.5 percent sequentially, faster than the 0.3 percent expansion seen in previous quarter. It was also bigger than the expected 0.4 percent rise.

France's consumer prices declined more-than-expected in April, mainly due to the drop in energy prices, preliminary estimates from the statistical office INSEE showed Friday. The consumer price index fell 0.2 percent year-on-year after a 0.1 percent drop in March. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent decline.

France's household consumption grew less-than-expected in March amid lower spending on food and clothing, data from the statistical office INSEE showed Friday. Consumer spending rose 0.2 percent from February, when it grew 0.5 percent, revised from 0.6 percent. Economists had forecast 0.4 percent increase. In January, spending gained 1 percent.

Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom worsened more-than-expected in April, after remaining steady in the previous month, survey data from Gfk showed Friday. The consumer confidence index dropped to -3 in April from 0 in the preceding month. Economists had expected the index to fall to -1.

The U.K. mortgage approvals declined to a 3-month low in March, while secured lending and consumer credit expanded strongly, the Bank of England reported Friday. The number of mortgages approved in March fell unexpectedly to 71,357 from 73,195 in February. It was forecast to rise to 74,200.

With personal income rising faster than personal spending, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing that the U.S. personal savings rate jumped to its highest level in over a year in the month of March.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in March after inching up by a downwardly revised 0.1 percent in February. Economists had been expecting income to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending edged up by 0.1 percent in March after rising by an upwardly revised 0.2 percent in February. Spending had been expected to increase by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Indicating a slow start to the second quarter, MNI Indicators released a report on Friday showing that growth in Chicago-area business activity slowed by much more than expected in the month of April. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer slumped to 50.4 in April after surging up to 53.6 in March.

While a reading above 50 indicates continued growth, the barometer had been expected to show a much more modest drop to 53.4.

Reflecting weakening expectations for future growth, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated by more than previously estimated in April. The report said the final reading on the consumer sentiment index for April came in at 89.0, reflecting a downward revision from the mid-month reading of 89.7.

The downward revision came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the index to be upwardly revised to 90.4.