European Stocks Close Sharply Lower As Ukraine War Triggers Sell-off

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled on Friday, pushing benchmark indices of the major markets to multi-month lows, as investors pressed sales amid rising concerns about growth due to an escalation in geopolitical tensions.

The mood in global markets turned quite bearish today after Russian forces attacked and took control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

The attack on the plant had previously caused a fire to break out at the facility, raising concerns about a potential nuclear disaster.

Meanwhile, the euro block is reportedly looking to impose more sanctions on Russia.

The pan European Stoxx 600 drifted down 3.56%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 3.48%, France's CAC 40 plunged 4.41% and Germany's DAX plummeted 4.97%. Switzerland's SMI declined 3.22%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkey all ended sharply lower.

In the UK market, Burberry Group, Smurfit Kappa Group, CRH, Flutter Entertainment, BT Group, Barclays Group, ICP, Melrose Industries, IAG and ABRDN shed 6 to 8.5%.

ITV declined sharply after announcing it would launch a revamped streaming service.

Standard Chartered, Natwest Group, HSBC Holdings, Airtel Africa, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Informa, Shell, Reckitt Benckiser, Lloyds Banking Group, Unilever and Schrodders lost 4 to 6%.

Evraz gained 13%, rebounding from recent sharp losses. Fresnillo climbed 8.6%. SSE, Hargreaves Lansdown and Avast gained 1.2 to 2%.

In the German market, Deutsche Bank plunged nearly 10%. Porsche Automobil, Puma, Zalando, Volkswagen, Siemens, BASF, Adidas, Infineon Technologies, HelloFresh, BME, Munich RE, Covestro and HeidelbergCement lost 5 to 9%.

SAP, Deutsche Wohnen, Fresenius Medical Care, Daimler, Allianz and Sartorius also declined sharply, while RWE rallied nearly 5%.

In Paris, Societe Generale tanked more than 10%. ArcelorMittal ended more than 8% down. The company said it has halted its steelmaking operations in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine to ensure the safety and security of its people and assets.

Veolia, WorldLine, Atos, Unibail Rodamco, Kering, Airbus Group, Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas, STMicroElectronics, Capgemini, Air France KLM, LVMH and Safran lost 6 to 8.5%.

Michelin shed more than 6%. The tyre maker said it would temporarily halt production at some of its plants in Europe due to significant supply-chain issues.

In economic releases, German exports were down 2.8% month-on-month in January 2022, reversing a 1.2% rise in December of 2021, Destatis reported. Shipments were expected to climb 1%.

Likewise, imports decreased 4.2%, in contrast to the 4% increase a month earlier. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 2%.

Germany's construction sector activity increased in February, survey results from IHS Markit showed on Friday. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.9 in February from 54.4 in January. This was the strongest growth in two years.

French industrial output rose 1.6% month-on-month, in contrast to the 0.1% fall in December, figures from the statistical office Insee revealed. This was the first increase in three months and exceeded the expected rate of 0.5%.

Eurozone's retail sales grew less than expected in January after a slump in the previous month, preliminary data from the statistical office Eurostat showed.

Retail sales rose 0.2% month-on-month following a 2.7% slump in December, revised from 3%. Economists had forecast 1.5% percent growth.

UK construction grew at the fastest pace in eight months in February, led by stronger housing activity, defying expectations for a slowing, survey data from IHS Markit showed.

The CIPS/Markit purchasing managers' index, or PMI, for the construction sector rose to 59.1 in February from 56.3 in January. Economists had forecast a lower score of 54.3.