European Stocks Slide Amid Report 25 Banks Will Fail Stress Test

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled Friday trimming strong weekly gains, after a draft statement reportedly showed more than two dozen banks will fail the European Central Bank's stress test.

The results of the ECB's check-up on banks will be made official on Sunday. 105 banks passed the test, while 25 banks are said to fall short of ECB standards, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, sluggish earnings results from some of Europe's key companies are also raising fears about the health of the global economy.

News of another high-profile ebola case in the U.S. also had investors on edge today, while relatively upbeat German consumer confidence figures were brushed aside.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks slipped 0.46 percent, but was up 2.3 percent for the week.

The German DAX slipped 0.66 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.69 percent. The FTSE 100 index of the U.K. eased 0.47 percent.

Banks were mixed, with Commerzbank up fractionally along with French majors Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas.

In Frankfurt, BASF lost 2.7 percent after stating that its 2015 targets would be ambitious.

Berenberg raised Fresenius Medical Care to "Buy" from "Hold." FMC shares rose 1.4 percent.

Air Liquide is falling 1.3 percent. The industrial and medical gases maker said its third-quarter revenue edged up 1 percent, amid good momentum in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

Luxury goods maker Kering slipped 5.1 percent amid weak sales for Gucci items.

In London, Pearson lost 2.6 percent. The company's chief finance officer Robin Freestone would like to step down before the end of 2015 to explore other interests.

Morgan Sindall lost 12.8 percent. The construction and regeneration company now expects full-year 2014 result to be below its earlier expectations, citing delays in projects in London and the South, as well as increased estimated costs.

Volvo, which lifted its cost-cuts target, surged 8.3 percent in Stockholm.

In economic news, German consumer climate for November improved unexpectedly, survey data revealed. The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose slightly to 8.5 in November from 8.4 in October, market research group GfK said. The score was forecast to fall to 8.

The U.K. economy grew at a slower pace in the third quarter, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics Office showed. Gross domestic product climbed 0.7 percent from the second quarter, when it grew 0.9 percent.