BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks fell on Friday as weak U.S. and Chinese data added to investor concerns over slowing global growth and Spain braced for its third election in four years.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to call a snap general election later today following a cabinet meeting.
Investors also await the outcome of high-level U.S.-China talks in Beijing for direction.
The benchmark DAX was down 33 points or 0.29 percent at 11,057 in opening deals after declining 0.7 percent in the previous session.
Automakers declined after industry data showed that European car sales fell by 4.6 percent in January from the same month last year.
BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen all dropped over 1 percent.
Lender Commerzbank slid half a percent and rival Deutsche Bank was little changed after U.S. yields fell on the back of weak retail sales data released overnight.
Internet portal Scout24 soared 12 percent after Hellman 7 Friedman and Blackstone made a 5.7 billion euro offer for the online classifieds group.
Insurer Allianz edged up slightly after reporting earnings results in line with expectations.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
