Investing.com - European stocks slipped lower on Friday, as markets paused following the previous session’s strong gains and investors became more cautious before of the weekend.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.13%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.12%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged 0.14% lower.
Market participants continued to follow policy measures announced this week by new U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump suggested late Thursday the implementation of a 20% tax on Mexican goods to pay for a border wall.
Donald Trump was also planning 'extreme vetting' of visa applications and a temporary ban on virtually all refugee admissions into the U.S.
Investors were also eyeing a meeting scheduled later Friday between U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and Donald Trump.
The two leaders were expected to discuss the possibility of a trade deal between their countries.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) lost 0.96% and 0.87%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) fell 0.12%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) retreated 0.80% and 3.15% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) declined 0.15% and 0.89%.
Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) AG added to losses, with shares down 0.87%, after the company’s compliance chief Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt announced resigned "due to differences in their understanding of responsibilities and future operating structures within the function she leads."
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.06%, led by Tesco (LON:TSCO), whose shares soared 8.41% after the group announced plans to buy the cash and carry wholesale supplier Booker for about £3.7 billion.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) rose 0.21% and Glencore (LON:GLEN) gained 0.72%, while Rio Tinto advanced 0.81% and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) jumped 0.95%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were on the downside. Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) saw shares drop 0.51% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) retreated 0.77%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) tumbled 1.15%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) overperformed, with shares edging up 0.10%.
BT Group (LON:BT) was little changed, as shares inched up by just 0.02% after the company reported an operating profit of £729 million for the third quarter.
The group also announced that the head of its European division will be resigning after an accounting scandal that weighed on the company’s stock earlier in the week.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% uptick, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.05% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.09% rise.