Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, after mixed economic reports from Germany and Spain and as investors still awaited highly anticipated data on inflation and unemployment in the euro zone.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 lost 1.01%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.65%.
Official data earlier showed that German retail sales declined by 2.3% last month, confounding expectations for a 0.4% rise. February's figure was revised to a 0.1% slip from a previously estimated 0.5% fall.
Meanwhile, separate report showed that Spain's gross domestic product rose 0.9% in the first quarter, beating expectations for a growth rate of 0.8% and up from 0.7% in the three months to December.
Investors also continued to focus on developments in Greece. On Wednesday, the country's deputy Prime Minister said Athens could seal a deal with its creditors in early May.
Mr. Dragasakis warned however that it was likely to be a "minimum agreement" to obtain the delayed funds Greece needs to avoid default.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) plummeted 1.56% and 3%, while Germany's Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) slid 0.26% and 0.70%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) lost 0.57% and 1.02% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) tumbled 1.08% and 1.09%.
Elsewhere, Sanofi (PARIS:SASY) saw shares drop 0.61% after the French drugmaker said sales of its diabetes drug Lantus will probably decline this year after it cut the price of its top insulin product in the U.S.
On the upside, Switzerland's Holcim (SIX:HOLN) Ltd. surged 2.42% reported a rise in first-quarter profit, helped by cost cuts.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.43%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in Barclays (LONDON:BARC) slipped 0.26% and HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) slid 0.34%, while Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) dropped 0.55% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) plunged 2.46%.
RBS was hit after posting a larger quarterly loss than expected as it set aside more money for restructuring and currency-manipulation probes.
Mining stocks were also on the downside, as Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) edged down 0.16% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) slumped 0.36%, while Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) lost 0.41% and 1.08% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.25% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.40% decline.
Later in the day, Germany was to report on unemployment, while the euro zone was to release preliminary data on consumer prices and the unemployment rate.
The U.S. was to publish data on initial jobless claims.