European Shares Fall As Banks Plunge On SVB Contagion Fears

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled on Thursday as investors assessed the potential fallout from the implosions of Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Capital.

Traders also waited for the release of monthly U.S. jobs report later in the day that could reinforce expectations of a bigger rate hike later this month.

The pan European STOXX 600 was down 1.7 percent at 452 after declining 0.2 percent on Thursday.

The German DAX and France's CAC 40 index both plunged around 1.8 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 1.7 percent.

Banks Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Barclays, Lloyds, Standard Chartered and Natwest lost 3-7 percent after 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.

Berkeley Group Holdings was little changed. The British housebuilder maintained its 2023 outlook despite a slowdown in the property sector.

Sandvik AB, a Swedish engineering firm, lost about 3 percent. The company has decided to invest in a new production unit in Malaysia with an investment of SEK 350 million over the next three years.

French food retailer Casino Group fell 5.5 percent after posting a narrower loss for its fiscal year 2022.

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 percent 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.