FRANKFURT: European shares ended lower on Friday as losses in banks and mining-related stocks weighed, with focus now shifting to the July 9 deadline for trading partners to reach a deal with the United States.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.5% lower, clocking a marginal weekly fall. Other regional indexes also declined, with Germany’s DAX down 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 losing 0.8%. Spain’s benchmark lagged with a 1.5% fall.
Basic resources lagged the major STOXX sub-sectors, down 1.4% as prices of base metals including copper came under pressure.
Euro zone banks slid 1,3%, with Spain’s BBVA topping declines at a 2.6% fall.
Helping limit losses, healthcare advanced 1.1%. Drugmakers Novartis, Roche and Novo Nordisk - some of the biggest weights on the STOXX 600 - all clocked gains.
Shares of French spirits makers Pernod Ricard, Remy Cointreau and LVMH - the owner of Hennessy - all finished well off their session lows after China spared major cognac producers from new duties on EU brandy, provided they sell at a minimum price. In the latest on tariffs, US President Donald Trump said that Washington will start sending letters to countries on Friday specifying what tariff rates they will face on imports to the United States.
With Trump’s 90-day pause on higher US tariffs ending next week, investors have taken a cautious stance as several large trading partners, including the European Union, are yet to secure trade deals.
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