BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were slightly lower on Friday as a further escalation in U.S.-China tensions overshadowed upbeat exports data from China.
U.S.-China relationship deteriorated further following a U.S. ban on transactions with China's tech firms.
The focus now shifts to the monthly employment report from the U.S. Labor Department due for publication later today, with analysts forecasting that employment growth likely slowed in July from the previous month due to a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.4 percent to 361.04 after declining 0.7 percent on Thursday. The German DAX shed 0.4 percent, France's CAC 40 index declined 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.
Cyclicals like banks and automakers were broadly lower.
Deutsche Telekom jumped 2.5 percent after TMobile US Inc said it added more monthly phone subscribers than expected in the second quarter. Deutsche Telekom owns 43 percent stake of TMobile.
Miner Anglo American fell over 1 percent and Glencore lost 2.7 percent as Sino-U.S. tensions escalated.
Oil & gas company BP Plc declined 2.6 percent and Royal Dutch Shell gave up 1.7 percent as oil dipped to around $45 a barrel on worries that a demand recovery would slow due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
Rolls-Royce Holdings tumbled 3 percent. ValueAct, a California-based activist investor, has sold its full stake in the company, the Financial Times reported.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals soared 10 percent. The manufacturer of non-branded generic drugs reported a 21 percent rise in first-half pretax profit.
Property website Rightmove surged 8.5 percent. After reporting a 43 percent fall in first-half pretax profit, the company said it was helped by a post-lockdown surge of pent-up demand and a temporary lifting of the stamp duty threshold.
In economic releases, German exports and imports grew at faster rates in June, data from Destatis showed. Exports advanced 14.9 percent sequentially, following May's 8.9 percent increase. Shipments were forecast to grow 13.3 percent in June.
At the same time, imports growth advanced to 7 percent from 3.6 percent in May. This was slower than economists' forecast of 10.9 percent rise.
Germany's industrial production grew at a faster pace in June, another report revealed. Industrial production advanced 8.9 percent month-on-month in June, faster than the 7.4 percent increase seen in May. Economists had forecast a monthly growth of 8.1 percent.
France's foreign trade activity continued to recover in June after the Covid-19 pandemic with the trade deficit widening to set a monthly record as imports exceeded exports, the French Customs said.
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