By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- A stepped up warning from the U.S. to
Russia about the Ukraine crisis was among the factors pressuring
European stocks on Friday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.4% to 334.67, as investors
headed into the weekend with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
late Thursday accusing Russia of violating its commitment to easing
tensions in eastern Ukraine.
"If Russia continues in this direction, it will not just be a
grave mistake, it will be an expensive one," Kerry said, citing
growing outflow of capital from Russia in recent months. "It's a
preview of how the free world will respond."
An overnight move "that will heighten concerns about the
financial impact of the conflict in eastern Ukraine," was Standard
& Poor's Ratings Services putting Russia in line for a possible
further rating downgrade, said Richard Perry, market analyst at
Hantec Markets, in a note. S&P also cut its rating on Russia to
one notch above junk.
Germany's DAX 30 was pushed lower, by 0.9% to 9,460.89, as
Germany has a deep goods-trading relationship with Russia. Russia's
blue-chip MICEX index fell 0.9% to 1,288.47.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gave up 0.2% at 6,688.67 and France's CAC 40
lost 0.3% to 4,464.44.
Among movers, shares of Tullow Oil PLC fell 2.7% after the
company said it will abandon an exploration well in Mauritania
because of a lack of discovery of hydrocarbons.
French auto maker Peugeot SA said its quarterly sales rose, but
its shares turned lower in mid-morning trade by 1.7%.
Also in France, shares of Alstom SA were halted, fulfilling a
request from the country's market authority AMF, according to
exchange operator Euronext Paris. Alstom shares on Thursday rallied
10.9% following a report by The Wall Street Journal that General
Electric Co. (GE) is in talks to buy Alstom's energy business.
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