Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Friday, after the release of disappointing manufacturing activity data from Spain and as investors remained cautious ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. employment report.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 lost 0.72%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.83%, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.75%.
Markit research group said Spain's manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 53.9 in July, from a reading of 54.6 the previous month, confounding expectations for a rise to 54.7.
But European equities remained mildly supported after official data on Thursday showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro area slowed to a five year low of 0.4% in July from 0.5% in June.
The data added to pressure on the European Central Bank to implement further stimulus measures to shore up growth and stave off the threat of deflation in the currency bloc.
In the U.S., official data on Wednesday showing that the U.S. economy rebounded more strongly than expected in the second quarter fuelled speculation over the timing of a possible U.S. rate hike.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) edged up 0.04% and 0.20%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slipped 0.16%.
Earlier Friday, Societe Generale reported a 7.8% increase in second-quarter profit, helped by a decline in provisions for doubtful loans.
Peripheral lenders were mostly lower however, Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) declined 0.30% and Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) gained 0.40% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) retreated 0.53% and 0.90%.
Elsewhere, Iliad (PARIS:ILD) saw shares dive 10.32% after the French mobile-phone carrier offered $15 billion in cash for a controlling stake in T-Mobile US, rivaling a proposal from Sprint Corp.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.53%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) tumbled 1.32% and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) lost 1.46%, while rivals Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) plummeted 1.70% and 2.04% respectively.
Financial stocks added to losses, as Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slipped 0.22% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) declined 0.56%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) retreated 1.06% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dropped 1.52%.
Also on the downside, Man Group (LONDON:EMG) plunged 3.03% after the hedge-fund manager said assets increased 7% in the first half of the year, in line with analysts' projections.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.09% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release closely watched government data on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate, while the Institute of Supply Management was to release data on manufacturing activity.