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European shares record their worst weekly performance in two months
European markets fell on Friday, tracking global caution after Wall Street posted its worst Thursday session since 2020.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index is down 1.6% at the close, with retail stocks down 2%, all major sectors and stock exchanges closing in negative territory, while the oil and gas sector is up 0.7%.
European Central Bank member and Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn told CNBC Friday that the market turmoil can be attributed to widespread uncertainty casting a shadow over the economic outlook.
"In Europe, we are facing this especially because of the over-reliance of energy on Russian fossil fuels," Rehn added.
Rehn called for a 25 basis point rate hike at the next ECB policy meeting in order to prevent inflation expectations from becoming "entrenched".
In a related development, the shares of the pharmaceutical ingredients company EUROAPI jumped by more than 8% in its first appearance in the stock market.
Spanish drugmaker Grifols added more than 9% after reporting an improvement in its EBIT margin in the first quarter.
