LONDON — European stock markets were down in midmorning trading on Friday, with the French market leading the way.
The CAC 40 in Paris tumbled 1.4 percent to 4,324.79, while the DAX in Frankfurt was down 1.3 percent to 9832.65. The FTSE 100 in London sank 0.9 percent to 6121.52, followed by the FTSE MIB in Milan, 0.3 percent to 18,070.46.
The euro traded at $1.14, while the pound fetched $1.44 and the Swiss franc equaled $1.04 at 11:10 a.m. CET.
Retail and luxury stocks were also down, with the morning’s biggest fallers including Unilever, 2.4 percent to 38.50 euros; Moncler, 2.2 percent to 14.52 euros, and Compagnie Financière Richemont, 2.4 percent to 62.05 Swiss francs.
Ted Baker also fell 2.7 percent to 26.50 pounds, while luxury goods giant Kering declined 2.5 percent to 153.25 euros, following confirmation of the news, first reported by WWD, that Hedi Slimane was leaving as creative and image director of its Saint Laurent division.
Supermarket giant J. Sainsbury fell 1.6 percent to 2.72 pounds, as it planned to acquire the British mass-market catalogue company Argos. The takeover is set to be approved by shareholders after a drawn-out process that began in early January. Sainsbury will pay $2 billion in cash and stocks to Home Retail Group plc, parent of Argos.
Among the very few stocks to gain ground was Jimmy Choo, 2 percent to 1.31 pounds.