Financial stocks push European markets lower

Banking and financial services stocks pushed European markets lower on Friday as concerns about the health of the sector persisted, with news of a US investigation into Credit Suisse and UBS adding pressure on stocks.

According to “Reuters”, the European Stoxx 60 index fell 0.9 percent by 0809 GMT, but a strong recovery earlier this week made it on its way to achieving weekly gains.

Credit Suisse shares fell 6.4 percent and UBS shares fell 6.3 percent after Bloomberg reported that they were among the banks under scrutiny in a US Justice Department investigation into whether financial experts helped wealthy Russians evade sanctions.

Raiffeisen Bank International fell 1.8 percent after Reuters reported that the European Central Bank was pressuring the Austrian bank to abandon its profitable business in Russia.

In general, the European banks index fell 2.3 percent, with Deutsche Bank falling 5.4 percent. Financial services shares fell 1.5 percent.