Investing.com - European stocks declined on Friday, despite positive German consumer climate data as markets awaited the release of a report on the German business climate due later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 shed 0.36%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.79%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.22%.
Data showed that the Gfk German consumer climate index ticked up to a seven-and-a-half year high of 9.0 this month, from a reading of 8.9 in June. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged in July.
But investors remained cautious amid ongoing tensions in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
Pro-Russian rebels shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets on Wednesday, not far from where the Malaysian Airlines passenger plane was brought down in eastern Ukraine late last week. Separately, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation on Thursday following turmoil in the government.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) gained 0.66% and 0.73%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) rallied 1.68%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) jumped 1.52% and 1.58% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) climbed 0.53% and 0.62%.
Air France-KLM added to gains, surging 4.64% after the airliner reported second-quarter profit that exceeded estimates.
Elsewhere, Danone (PARIS:DANO) saw shares retreat 0.68% after saying that sales and profit missed analysts' projections.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 edged down 0.11%, weighed by British Sky (LONDON:BSY), down 2.46%, after the company offered to buy German broadcaster Sky Deutschland (XETRA:SKYDn).
Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) slid 0.37% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) declined 0.55%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) dropped 0.60% and 0.67% respectively.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts higher. Shares in HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) rose 0.29% and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) rallied 2.02%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) surged 2.08% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) soared 14.37%, leading gains on the index.
The Royal Bank of Scotland found support after saying that first-half profit probalby almost doubled.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.03% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% fall.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish the Ifo report on business climate, while the U.S. was to release data on durable goods orders.