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European shares drifted lower on Friday amid signs that U.S. President Donald Trump could be intensifying a broader trade war that could damage growth worldwide.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, German consumer sentiment is set to rise only marginally heading into April despite a revival in expectations regarding the economy<\/span> after the new elections, a closely watched survey revealed earlier today. <\/p>\n The forward-looking consumer climate index rose to -24.5 in April from -24.6 in March, according to a survey jointly published by the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the British pound climbed after the release of positive retail sales and GDP data. <\/p>\n British retail sales unexpectedly climbed by 1 percent in February, surpassing expectations of a 0.4 percent decline, driven largely by higher spending on clothing and household goods.<\/p>\n The British economy expanded by 1.5 percent year-on-year for the fourth quarter, slightly above the 1.4 percent growth anticipated.<\/p>\n The pan European STOXX 600 was down 0.3 percent at 544.84 after ending at its lowest level in nearly two weeks the previous day.<\/p>\n The German DAX fell 0.7 percent and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent. <\/p>\n French video game maker Ubisoft jumped more than 7 percent after Chinese gaming studio Tencent agreed to invest about 1.16 billion Euros (Approximately 1.3 billion USD) for a 25 percent stake in its subsidiary. <\/p>\n German lender Deutsche Bank fell 2.3 percent after extending CEO Christian Sewing’s contract. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n