European Stocks Close Lower, Oil Price $100 a Barrel
European stock markets closed lower on Friday (March 13th) as investors continued to weigh the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its longer-term impact on growth prospects.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.5%, with most major bourses in the region trading in the red, while sectoral movements were mixed.
The oil and gas, insurance, and utilities sectors led gains, while industrials and mining lagged and weighed on the overall index, in line with persistent risk-off sentiment amidst persistently high energy prices.
In the currency market, sterling weakened against the US dollar and euro after preliminary data showed the UK economy stagnated in January. Sterling fell 0.8% to US$1.323, while the euro weakened 0.6% against the greenback to US$1.144.
In individual stocks, Deutsche Bank fell 0.9% after the bank disclosed exposure to the private credit market on Thursday. The decline occurred as the broader banking sector struggled to mitigate the ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict, with the Stoxx 600 Banks Index last recorded a 1.12% decline.
Source: Newsmaker.id
