BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European markets closed weak on Friday, with bank stocks posting losses amid concerns about the health of U.S. credit markets. Concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions, and the ongoing war in Ukraine also weighed on sentiment.
Zions Bancorporation, a Utah-based lender, said it would write off $50m on two loans, while Phoenix-headquartered Western Alliance said it had started legal proceedings over a bad loan said to be worth $100m.
The temporary reprieve the newly formed French government got after Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes on Thursday helped limit French market's downside.
The pan European Stoxx 600 ended nearly 1% down. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed 0.86% down, Germany's DAX lost 1.82%, and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.18%. Switzerland's SMI settled lower by 0.45%.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye all ended weak. Russia bucked the trend and closed sharply higher.
In the UK market, Barclays ended 5.6% down. Standard Chartered, Natwest Group, HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking Group lost 2.4 to 3.5%.
Fresnillo plunged more than 10%. ICG, Endeavour Mining, Antofagasta, BAE Systems, Schroders, IAG, Anglo American Plc, Melrose Industries, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Babcock International lost 3 to 5.6%.
Pearson, Haleon, Reckitt Benckiser, Coca-Cola HBC, Smiths Group, Unilever and Burberry Group closed with strong gains.
In the German market, Deutsche Bank and Commerz Bank tumbled 6% and 3.7%, respectively.
Rheinmetall lost nearly 7%. Allianz, Siemens Energy, MTU Aero Engines, Siemens, Daimler Truck Holding, Infineon, Heidelberg Materials, Gea Group, Munich RE, Zalando and RWE also closed sharply lower.
Continental soared more than 11%, buoyed by a rating upgrade of the stock by Deutsche Bank to 'buy'. Deutsche Bank Research has upgraded the stock's rating after Continental's third-quarter revenues, EBIT margin and cash flow exceeded expectations..
Brenntag, Beiersdorf, Volkswagen, Symrise, Mercedes-Benz, Fresenius, BMW and BASF also closed on firm note.
In the French market, Societe Generale lost more than 5%. BNP Paribas ended nearly 4% down.
Thales, Legrand, Schneider Electric, Airbus, Credit Agricole, Safran, AXA, Eurofins Scientific and Saint Gobain ended lower by 1 to 3.3%.
EssilorLuxottica zoomed 13% after reporting that revenues for the third quarter were 6,867 million euros, up 11.7% from last year.
Pernod Ricard climbed nearly 3%. Orange, Danone, Hermes International, Renault, L'Oreal and Stellantis gained 1 to 2%.
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