European stocks slid on Friday after France imposed fresh regional lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus amid concern over the pace of vaccination campaigns in some countries, while bank stocks led sectoral declines. LONDONLondon’s FTSE 100 marked its weakest session since late-February on Friday, as a retreat in US Treasury yields weighed on bank shares. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 1.1 per cent, underperforming its European peers, and posted its first weekly decline in three weeks. Bank stocks including HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds Banking fell between 0.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent after US Treasury yields retreated from a 14-month high. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 index fell 0.7 per cent, dragged down by industrials stocks.

Source: The Irish Times March 19, 2021 18:24 UTC