European equities closed lower on Friday afternoon as investors digested further earnings reports. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed Friday provisionally 1.38 percent lower with every sector trading in negative territory. The index recorded its biggest weekly loss since November 2016 mainly driven by banking stocks and higher yields. Deutsche Bank reported a net loss of about 497 million euros for 2017— its third annual consecutive loss. The stock fell more than 11 percent over the week. Caixa Bank also fell heavily after reporting its latest numbers. The Spanish bank reported a quarterly net profit that was down by 70 percent from the third quarter. Danske Bank bucked the trend was the best performing bank, up by 1.2 percent ion the day, after fourth-quarter numbers beat analyst expectations. Autos were another poorly performing sector. This was after Finnish police decided to start a criminal investigation into the tire-maker Nokian Tyres for alleged product test manipulation. The stock dropped to the bottom of the European benchmark, finishing down by 7 percent. In the U.K. market, BT reported a pre-tax profit increase below analysts expectations, which sent shares down sharply. AstraZeneca saw sales falling 5 percent in 2017 but it foresees a small increase in drug sales this year. The stock initially fell but then closed higher by more than 3 percent on the promise of growth. On Thursday, the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond crossed the 3 percent level for the first time since May, while the 10-year yield rose above 2.8 percent for the first time in since 2014. This after wage data pointed towards rising inflation in the U.S. In the U.S. stocks slipped sharply as investors noted the effect of rising yields. Source: CNBC
