European Markets Close Sharply Lower As Bank Stocks Tumble

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, weighed down by heavy selling in the banking space as investors assessed the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Silvergate Capital.

Also, data showing an acceleration in U.S. job growth in the month of February raised concerns the Fed will continue to remain aggressive with regard to interest rate hikes.

SVB Financial Group, which specializes in venture-capital financing, announced it had suffered significant losses on its portfolio.

Separately, crypto banking giant Silvergate said it planned to close as the sector faces more turmoil, raising concerns about the wider financial sector.

The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 1.35%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.67%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC ended lower by 1.31% and 1.3%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI fell 1.68%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye lost 1 to 3%.

Iceland, Portugal and Russia also ended week, although with less pronounced losses.

In the UK market, Ocado Group, Hargreaves Lansdown, Admiral Group, Rolls-Royce Holdings, HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered, Legal & General Group, DCC, Pershing Square Holdings and Prudential lost 4 to 6.5%.

Barclays, Beazley, IAG, Scottish Mortgage and Lloyds Banking Group are also down sharply.

Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo, BT Group and National Grid posted sharp to moderate gains.

In the German market, Deutsche Bank plunged more than 7%. Daimler, Commerzbank, Continental, Vonovia, Zalando, Siemens Energy, Siemens, Porsche AG, Covestro, HeidelbergCement, MTU Aero Engines and Adidas ended lower by 2 to 4.3%.

Fresenius Medical Care climbed nearly 2%. Deutsche Boerse and Fresenius posted modest gains.

In Paris, Societe Generale lost nearly 5%. Legrand, BNP Paribas, Schneider Electric, ArcelorMittal, Veolia, Unibail Rodamco, Worldline, Credit Agricole, Airbus Group, Stellantis, Capgemini, STMicroElectronics and Renault lost 2 to 4%.

Eurofins Scientific surged nearly 3%. Carrefour gained about 1%, while Thales ended modestly higher.

In economic releases, Germany's consumer price inflation held steady in February, as initially estimated, the latest data from Destatis showed.

The consumer price index climbed 8.7% year-over-year in February, the same increase as in January. That was in line with the flash data published on March 1.

France's foreign trade deficit decreased at the start of the year as imports fell faster than exports, separate data from the customs office showed.

The trade deficit dropped to EUR 12.9 billion in January from EUR 14.7 billion in December.

The UK economy grew at the start of the year, after contracting in the previous month, led by the strong recovery in the services sector, preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday.

Monthly gross domestic product rose 0.3% from December when it shrank 0.5%, the data showed. That beat economists' expectations for a modest 0.1% growth.