Investing.com - European stocks opened mostly lower, as they tracked their Asian counterparts and declining oil prices continued to dampen market sentiment.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.62%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.02%.
Markets were jittery after Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell below the $30 per barrel threshold for the first time since 2004 on Thursday, pressured lower by a global supply glut and fears of a slowdown in China.
Oil remained under pressure on Friday and were hovering at $30.33 a barrel in early European trade.
Energy stocks were lower, as French oil and gas major Total SA (PA:TOTF) tumbled 1.70% and Italy’s ENI (MI:ENI) lost 2%.
Financial stocks were also on the downside, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) declining 1.08% and 1.35%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) plummeted 2.59% and 2.91%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) dropped 0.62% and 1.69% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) retreated 0.90% and 0.92%.
Elsewhere, Fiat Chrysler (N:FCAU) slid 0.73% after the Italian carmaker denied allegations by two Chicago-area dealerships accusing the company of inflating sales.
Also in the auto sector, France’s Renault (PA:RENA) was down 0.78% after saying there was no evidence of defeat devices found in its offices that were raided by fraud investigators.
In earnings news, Hennes & Mauritz AB, H & M ser. B (ST:HMb) said December sales increased by 10% from the year before, sending the Swedish clothing retailer’s shares up 2.98%.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.21%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining stocks.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (L:BLT) and Antofagasta (L:ANTO) plummeted 3.61% and 3.78% respectively, while Glencore (L:GLEN) plunged 4.81% and Anglo American (L:AAL) dove 6.79%.
Earlier Friday, BHP Billiton said it expects to take a $7.2 billion pre-tax impairment charge against the value of its U.S. shale assets.
Financial stocks were steady to lower, with Lloyds Banking (L:LLOY) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (L:RBS) inching up 0.03% and 0.04%, while Barclays (L:BARC) slid 0.35% and HSBC Holdings (L:HSBA) dropped 0.51%.
On the upside, BT Group (L:BT) rallied 1.08% after the U.K. Competitions and Markets Authority cleared the company’s £12.5 billion takeover of mobile carrier EE.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a sharply lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 1.12% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.02% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 1.10% loss.