European stocks lower in cautious trade; Dax down 0.12%

Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Friday, as markets eyed the highly anticipated release of first quarter U.S. economic growth data later in the day, while Spain was expected to unveil fresh growth measures.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slid 0.64%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.51%, while Germany’s DAX 30 edged 0.12% lower.

Investors remained cautious as Spain was expected to reveal a series of new growth measures designed to fight the country's financial crisis.

On Thursday, official data showed that Spain's unemployment rate ticked up to 27.2% in the first quarter, from 26.0% in the previous quarter, compared to expectations for a rise to 26.5%.

Separately, Goldman Sachs said it now expects the European Central Bank to cut rates by 0.25% at next week's policy meeting.

The investment bank also revised down its euro zone growth forecast for 2013 to minus 0.7% from minus 0.5% previously.

Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.24% and 1.22%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank plummeted 2.03% and 1.90% respectively.

Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA tumbling 1.09% and 1.37%, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo retreated 1.13% and 0.59%.

Elsewhere, PPR plunged 5.52% after reporting first-quarter revenue below analysts’ estimates as Gucci posted its weakest quarterly growth in more than three years.

In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.24%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto saw shares retreat 0.90% and 1.69% respectively, while rivals Evraz and Eurasian Natural Resources plummeted 2.55% and 2.75%.

Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys were also on the downside, plunging 1.04% and 2.89%.

In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower. Shares in Lloyds Banking slid 0.32% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.68%, while Barclays retreated 0.76%. HSBC Holdings overperformed on the other hand, gaining 0.65%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.12% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% decline.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on first quarter growth, followed by revised data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.