By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Italian index advances
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks fell Friday, and logged
losses of more than 2% for the week in which geopolitical tensions
and regional growth concerns took their toll.
The Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.6% to 324.91, the lowest close
since March 24, FactSet data showed.
European markets followed Asian declines overnight, coming after
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday authorized targeted
airstrikes in northern Iraq targeted against Islamist militants. In
Japan, the Nikkei Average sank 3%. The Pentagon said Friday the
U.S. military began its airstrikes.
The pan-European index pulled lower by 2.1% this week as
investors fled risk, in part as a trade war between Russia and the
West escalated over Russia's support of separatist forces in
Ukraine. The Stoxx 600 came off intraday lows Friday following a
Russian news service report that Russia was looking to de-escalate
its conflict with Ukraine.
With investors concerned about the impact of the trade war on
Germany, Europe's largest economy, the DAX 30 this week dropped
2.2%, and marked a 10% fall from its all-time high hit on June 20.
The DAX closed Friday's session down 0.3% at 9,009.32.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday
acknowledged that risks to the region's economic outlook tilt to
the downside. His comments came after the central bank decided to
hold its key lending rate steady at 0.15%, and maintain its deposit
rate at minus 0.10%.
Draghi "needs to be more proactive," said Stephen Pope, managing
partner of London-based Spotlight Ideas, on Friday. "Once we get
toward October, we need to see ... aggressive [quantitative easing]
coming through."
Roundup
But one of Friday's advancers on the DAX and the Stoxx 600 was
Allianz SE , up 0.5% after the insurer and Pimco parent reported
second-quarter profit that topped expectations on Friday.
Bucking the downward trend in stocks Friday, Russia's MICEX
index rose 1.1% to 1,348.21. Italy's FTSE MIB rose 0.3% to
19,193.48, in part after the Italian government late Thursday
approved measures aimed at pulling the country out of
recession.
Stock in Banca Popolare di Milano leapt 6.9%. Banca Popolare
dell'Emilia Romagna surged 11.7% after Italy's stock market
regulator banned short selling of the lender's shares, according to
Dow Jones Newswires. The stock fell nearly 14% on Thursday after
the lender reported loan-loss provisions that were higher than
expected.
In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 0.1% to 4,147.81. It closed the week
lower by 1.3%.
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