European stocks fell on Friday as investors cooled on prospects for global trade developments, with losses for Swiss luxury goods group Compagnie Financière Richemont SA CFR, -5.58% and French bank Crédit Agricole SA, along with major oil companies.
The Stoxx 600 SXXP, -0.23% slipped 0.4% to 404.74 after closing Thursday with a gain of 0.4% to 406.55, its highest level since May 2015. Buoyed by positive U.S.-China trade developments and record highs for Wall Street stocks, the Stoxx 600 is headed for around a 1.3% gain this week.
The euro EURUSD, -0.1629% traded flat at $1.1051.
Across regional indexes, the German DAX 30 index DAX, -0.24% fell 0.3% to 13,249, while the French CAC 40 index PX1, -0.19% eased 0.4% to 5,868.08. The FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.32% slipped 0.3% to 7,384.56.
The Dow industrials DJIA, +0.66% and S&P 500 SPX, +0.27% finished at record highs on Thursday, even amid reports of “fierce internal opposition” in Washington over a new accord with Beijing to cancel tariffs in stages. Stock futures indicated a slightly softer open for Wall Street on Friday.
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Economic data from Germany showed exports rising 1.5% in September, a number that soundly beat economists’ expectations.
Banks were the weakest sector in Europe, weighed by a 3.8% fall in shares of Crédit Agricole ACA, -2.11%. The French banking group reported a forecast-beating gain in third-quarter net profit. But analysts at the financial services company Jefferies noted that the bank missed expectations for revenue growth in France, while revenue was just in line with forecasts on the international side.
Earnings season rolled on, with shares of Cartier parent Richemont CFR, -5.58% sinking 5.5% after reporting a rise in first-half sales, but earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Sales in Asia Pacific, Richemont’s largest region, rose 7%, with strong growth in China and Korea, while the company saw a double-digit decline in the Hong Kong region amid ongoing political tensions there.
HSBC Holdings HSBA, -0.03% HSBA, -0.03% eased 0.8%.
Heavily weighted oil names were also lower, as the price of crude oil decreased on Friday in line with a fall for other perceived riskier assets when questions emerged over trade deal progression between the U.S. and China. Shares of BP BP, +1.38% BP, -0.54% and Total SA TOT, +1.11% FP, -0.89% fell over 1% each.