European stocks give up record levels as technology companies decline

European stocks fell on Friday, weighed down by the performance of technology and luxury goods stocks, with traders catching their breath after the main index hit a record high in the previous session.

According to Reuters, the European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.1% by 0823 GMT, but is still on its way to achieving gains for the eighth week in a row. The British Financial Times 100 and the Spanish IBEX indices outperformed their regional counterparts.

Shares of technology companies that are highly sensitive to interest rates fell 0.9% after leading sub-sector gains on Thursday, and shares of personal and household goods companies fell 0.6% due to the decline in Chinese markets overnight.

At the end of a busy week, investors are closely monitoring the German business climate index for March, searching for further clues about the state of the euro zone economy.

ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane will speak about inflation and monetary policy later on Friday, while attention will also be on comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde, who is participating in the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.

The shares of the British Phoenix Group rose to the top of the STOXX 600 index with a jump of 7.5% after the insurance company said that it aims to achieve operating liquidity of 1.4 billion pounds and repay debts worth 500 million pounds by 2026.

Nordea Bank and Danske Bank shares fell 8% and 2.2%, respectively, as they were traded without the right to distribute dividends.