European Shares Retreat On Rising Bond Yields

European stocks drifted lower on Friday as the selloff on U.S. Treasuries resumed, with yields on the 10-year notes climbing back above 1.6 percent.

The focus now turns to U.S. producer-price data due out later in the day and the Federal Reserve decision next week.

The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped half a percent to 421.99 after four sessions of gains. The German DAX shed 0.6 percent, France’s CAC 40 index slipped 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE was down 0.3 percent.

Dutch company Prosus, which owns stake in Tencent Holdings, lost 5 percent after China’s antitrust regulator fined some of its largest tech giants including Tencent.

German broadcaster RTL Group gained about 1 percent after the company confirmed it was exploring the sale of its controlling stake in French broadcaster Groupe M6.

French drug major Sanofi slid half a percent after announcing the launch of human trials of its second Covid-19 vaccine.

EssilorLuxottica edged up slightly. The ophthalmic company reported a rise in second-half net profit and said it is starting 2021 with confidence in its ability to outperform the eyecare and eyewear industry.

Automaker Renault was little changed after selling its entire 1.54 percent stake in German rival Daimler. Shares of the latter fell over 2 percent.

British luxury group Burberry surged nearly 9 percent. The company said it has continued to see a strong rebound since December and full-year figures will be ahead of expectations.

Real estate investment trust Hammerson rallied 3.3 percent despite posting a £1.7bn loss for last year.

Berkeley Group shares slumped 5.4 percent. In a trading update, the housebuilder said that profits are set to flatline this year, in line with expectations.

In economic releases, German consumer price inflation rose 1.3 percent year-on-year in February following a 1.0 percent increase in January, in line with the flash estimate, latest figures from Destatits showed.

U.K. GDP declined 2.9 percent on a monthly basis in January, reversing an expansion of 1.2 percent in December, official data showed. However, this was slower than the 4.9 percent contraction economists’ had forecast.

Another government report revealed that the visible trade gap narrowed to GBP 9.82 billion in January from GBP 14.3 billion in December.