European Stock Indices Close Lower

European stock indices closed lower at the end of Friday's trading. The European Stoxx 600 index closed down 1.4 percent. All major European stock exchanges recorded sharp losses, except for the Spanish Stock Exchange, whose main index lost only 0.2 percent. The sub-index for car companies led the decline among the main sectors in the European index, falling 3.6 percent, affected by a 6.8 percent decline in Mercedes-Benz, which lowered its full-year profit margin target for the second time in less than two months. Shares of other competitors in the sector also fell, such as Volkswagen, whose shares fell 3.4 percent, and France's Forvia, whose shares lost 8 percent. Technology stocks fell 2.7 percent, with Dutch chipmaker ASML losing 4.2 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock, forecasting it to outperform the sector's benchmark. Source: Qatar News Agency