Investing.com - European stocks were mixed to lower on Friday, weighed by the release of disappointing Spanish manufacturing data, while investors eyed an upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls report to be published later in the trading session.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 slid 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.44%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.14%.
Markit research group said Spain's manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 52.7 in April, from a reading of 52.8 the previous month, compared to expectations for a rise to 53.4.
Meanwhile, global equitiy markets remained under pressure after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would reduce its bond purchases by $10 billion to a total of $45 billion a month, in a widely expected decision.
Investors were looking ahead to the upcoming April nonfarm payrolls report, which was expected to show that the recovery in the labor market was continuing.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (BNPP.PARIS) plummeted 2.24% and Societe Generale (SOGN.PARIS) gained 0.54% in France, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.XETRA) slid 0.41%.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MILAN) dipped 0.01% and Unicredit (CRDI.MILAN) advanced 0.58% in Italy, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (SAN.MADRID) and BBVA (BBVA.MADRID) shed 0.16% and 0.53% respectively.
Elsewhere, Pernod Ricard (PERP.PARIS) was down 0.06% after saying it doesn't plan to acquire additional wineries in the U.S. following last week’s agreement to buy Kenwood Vineyards in California.
In London, FTSE 100 inched up 0.08%, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.LONDON), whose shares surged 10.18%, after the bank said its first quarter-profit tripled as impairments fell and its Irish unit posted its first profit since the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, other U.K. lenders were mixed as Lloyds Banking (LLOY.LONDON) climbed 0.70%, while Barclays (BARC.LONDON) and HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LONDON) lost 0.03% and 0.34%.
Mining stocks were also mixed, with Glencore Xstrata (GLEN.LONDON) and Bhp Billiton (BLT.LONDON) down 0.19% and 0.15% respectively, while Rio Tinto (RIO.LONDON) added 0.16% and Vedanta Resources (VED.LONDON) gained 0.43%.
On the downside, Astrazeneca (AZN.LONDON) slipped 0.13% after U.S. drugmaker Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) raised ts bid for the company to about £63.1 billion.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.06% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% uptick.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to produce data on the unemployment rate.