(Reuters) – European shares edged lower on Friday, pulled down by technology and luxury stocks, as traders took a breather after the benchmark index hit a record high in the previous session.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1%, as of 0823 GMT, but still on track for its eighth consecutive weekly gain, with Britain’s FTSE 100 and Spain’s IBEX outperforming regional peers.
Rate-sensitive technology shares slipped 0.9% after leading the sectoral gains on Thursday, while personal and household goods were down 0.6% owing to overnight weakness in Chinese markets.
A packed week is coming to an end with investors closely monitoring Germany’s business climate index for March at 0900 GMT for more clues on the economic health of the euro zone.
European Central Bank’s chief economist Philip Lane will be speaking on inflation and monetary policy later in the day, while eyes will also be on comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde who is participating in the Euro Summit in Brussels.
UK’s Phoenix Group topped the STOXX 600 with a 7.5% jump after the insurer said it aimed to generate operating cash of 1.4 billion pounds ($1.77 billion) and pay down 500 million pounds in debt by 2026.
Shares of Nordea Bank and Danske Bank slumped 8% and 2.2%, respectively, as they traded ex-dividend.
(Reporting by Shubham Batra n Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
