European Down For Second Straight Day

(RTTNews) - The major European markets finished under water again on Friday for a second straight session, opening firmly lower and then remaining in the red throughout the trading day to end at session lows.

The markets were down as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions curbed investors' appetite for riskier assets. Investors also watched the latest British political developments after early results from nationwide elections suggested a historic drubbing for Prime Minister Keir Starer's Labor Party.

Germany's DAX tumbled 324.98 points or 1.32 percent to finish at 24,338.63, while the FTSE in London sank 43.88 points or 0.43 percent to close at 10,233.07, the CAC 40 in France dropped 89.51 points or 1.09 percent to end at 8,112.57 and the SMI in Switzerland slipped 34.80 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 13,100.63.

In Germany, Rheinmetall plummeted 9.18 percent, while Allianz tumbled 5.04 percent, Daimler Tuck Holding slumped 2.06 percent, Deutsche Borse retreated 1.78 percent, Deutsche Telekom shed 1.08 percent, Deutsche Post lost 0.99 percent, Deutsche Bank eased 0.13 percent, Infineon Technologies rallied 3.63 percent and BASF jumped 1.45 percent.

In London, Rolls-Royce plummeted 3.11 percent, while Fresnillo crashed 2.48 percent, Haleon tumbled 1.16 percent, Shell dropped 0.51 percent, British American Tobacco shed 0.44 percent, Glencore lost 0.21 percent, HSBC dipped 0.17 percent, Varclays eased 0.08 percent, Vodafone spiked 2.28 percent, Lloyds Banking expanded 1.08 percent, Compass Group improved 0.73 percent and Anglo American and Rio Tinto both rose 0.26 percent.

In France, Safran plunged 2.88 percent, while ArcelorMittal tanked 2.36 percent, Airbus tumbled 1.94 percent, BNP Paribas declined 1.81 percent, AXA slumped 1.30 percent, Schneider Electric skidded 0.94 percent, Sanofi sank 0.87 percent, Credit Agricole shed 0.73 percent, Societe Generale lost 0.65 percent, Veolia Environnement fell 0.25 percent, Carrefour rose 0.32 percent, Engie added 0.48 percent and Orange gained 0.91 percent.

In Switzerland, Swiss Life stumbled 2.68 percent, while Zurich Insurance sank 0.77 percent, Swiss Re shed 0.68 percent, Swatch Group surged 4.36 percent, Julius Bar Gruppe rallied 1.25 percent, Roche Holdings added 0.50 percent, UBS Group gained 0.26 percent and Novartis perked 0.05 percent.

In economic news, Germany's exports grew unexpectedly in March but the overall increase remained weak and imports registered its fastest growth in nearly three years. As a result, the trade balance showed a surplus of EUR 14.3 billion in March, which was well below EUR 19.6 billion surplus seen in February.

Consumers in Switzerland remained slightly less negative at the start of the second quarter, monthly survey results from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, or SECO, showed on Friday. The consumer sentiment index rose to -40.0 in April from -43.0 in the previous month. The expected score was -46.0. The index also rose from the previous year's reading of -42.0.

UK house prices dropped for the second straight month in April as geopolitical tensions drive inflation higher and trigger interest rate hike concerns, data published by the mortgage lender Halifax showed Friday. House prices dropped 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in April but slower than the 0.5 percent decrease in March. Prices were expected to remain flat.

Germany's industrial production declined unexpectedly in March as the war in the Middle East started to take its toll on industrial activity, official data revealed Friday. Industrial output dropped 0.7 percent in March, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, Destatis reported. The fall confounded economists' forecast of a 0.4 percent increase and followed a 0.5 percent drop in February.