12:21 PM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower on Friday as the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.88%, the Swiss Market Index dropped 1.67%, France's CAC fell 1.11%, the FTSE in London lost 0.81%, and Germany's DAX closed 1.30% lower.

The seasonally adjusted retail trade volume decreased 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU in February sequentially, according to first estimates from Eurostat. Compared with a year earlier, the calendar adjusted retail sales index was down 0.7% the euro area and 0.2% in the EU.

The eurozone construction sector continued its sharp decline in output in March, according to the HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index, which dropped to 42.4 from 42.9 in February.

"The performance of the construction sector in the Eurozone remains bleak," Tariq Kamal Chaudhry, Economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in a release. "The Eurozone has been enduring a downturn for almost two years now."

In the UK, average house prices declined 1.0% in March, compared with February, when it rose 0.3% from January, according to Halifax's latest House Price Index.

Meanwhile, UK construction companies registered an increase in total industry activity during March as the headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.2 from 49.7 in February. Any reading above 50.0 indicates an overall expansion of construction output.

In Germany, incoming orders in the manufacturing sector rose 0.2% in February from January 2024, according to preliminary information from the Federal Statistical Office.

And in corporate news, Stellantis' (STLA) production in Italy dropped nearly 10% in Q1 of 2024, compared with 2023, Italian metal workers union FIM-CISL said Friday. The Amsterdam-based automaker produced 170,415 units of cars and commercial vans during the quarter, compared with 188,910 a year earlier. Stellantis was down nearly 2% in Paris.

Ocado shares dropped 9% in London, a day after the company announced that Chairman Rick Haythornthwaite will step down next year. He will not seek re-election to the Ocado board in April 2025 "due to his increasing commitment as the recently appointed group chair of NatWest Group."

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