EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Sell Off As UBS Falls, Tech Worries Weigh
Adidas shares spring higher
European stocks were swept lower Friday, with Swiss bank UBS Group AG among decliners in the wake of its financial update, and the selloff was pushing the market toward a weekly loss.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 1% to 378.58, as no sectors advanced. The index on Thursday slipped 0.1% at 382.32 after a choppy session (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-search-for-direction-in-busy-session-for-earnings-2017-07-27).
"European markets look set to end the week on a softer note after a weak Asia session and some late profit-taking in the tech sector heading into the U.S. close, which saw both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close lower on the day," Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets UK, wrote.
"We've seen a veritable earnings bonanza from the tech sector over the past week or so with Netflix, Alphabet and Facebook surprising to the upside, so hopes were high that Amazon would follow suit."
After U.S. trading closed, e-commerce behemoth Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) posted a larger-than-expected drop of 77% in second-quarter earnings, hurt by the company's spending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-earnings-fall-77-shares-drop-2017-07-27).
European technology shares slid a collective 1.4% on Friday.
Meanwhile, the banking sector was in focus with a stack of earnings reports coming from the sector.
Stock movers: UBS shares were knocked back 3.7% on concerns over margins in its wealth management division despite the lender's 14% profit rise in the second quarter to 1.17 billion Swiss francs ($1.21 billion).
But shares of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.EB) gained 2% after the Swiss lender posted better-than-expected net income of 303 million francs.
Read: UBS, Credit Suisse profit up after strategic shift (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ubs-credit-suisse-profit-up-after-strategic-shift-2017-07-28)
Adidas AG (ADS.XE) rallied 9.2% after the sports apparel maker raised its full-year forecast.
Shares of Renault SA (RNO.FR) dropped 6% even as the French car maker's first-half profit surged 59% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/renault-first-half-profit-leaps-on-higher-volume-2017-07-28) on increased volume and as it received a larger payout from its holding in Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY)
National indexes: France's CAC 40 index dropped 1.4% to 5,177.81, with Renault a drag and most of the index's other components selling off.
Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.7% to 12,131.40, heading toward its eighth loss in 11 sessions.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.6% at 7,398.04, and Spain's IBEX 35 was yanked down 0.9% to 10,510.30.
A stronger euro can make goods produced by European exporters more expensive to purchase for overseas clients. But the widely watched Ifo Institute in Germany on Thursday (https://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/facts/Survey-Results/Konjunkturtest/Exporterwartungen/Archiv/2017/Exporterwartungen-20170727.html) did note that German exporters were in "high spirits" in July even as the euro has appreciated in value recently.
The euro fetched $1.1701, up from $1.1677 late Thursday in New York.
Data: French inflation rose 0.7% in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-inflation-steady-in-july-2017-07-28), the same rate notched in June, said national statistics agency Insee.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2017 05:04 ET (09:04 GMT)