European stocks down on profit taking

European stock markets fell on Friday, as traders banked profits from the week's strong gains in response to positive US economic data and signs that the world's biggest economy may take time to wind down its stimulus programme. Gold prices dropped under $1,200 an ounce for the first time for nearly three years. London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares lost 0.45 percent to close at 6,215.45 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index slid 0.39 percent to 7,959.22 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.62 percent to 3,738.91 points. Madrid's main index slumped 1.04 percent and Milan tumbled 1.24 percent. "The recent rebound in stocks has been tempered today by HSBC downgrading its global growth forecast due to the recent turmoil in emerging markets," said CMC Markets UK analyst Michael Hewson. Asian stock markets mostly rose on Friday after a US Federal Reserve official moved to soothe fears the bank would wind up its stimulus programme too soon. But concerns over a weaker Chinese economy lingered, traders said. In Tokyo, Japan's Nikkei index led the gains as the dollar edged back towards the 100 yen mark, helped by a better-than-expected batch of economic data. In later London foreign exchange deals, the euro slid to $1.3012 from $1.3038 late in New York on Thursday. The dollar grew to 99.22 yen from 98.35 yen on Thursday. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to $1,180.50 an ounce -- the lowest point since August 2010. It later recovered to stand at $1,192 an ounce from $1,232.75 on Thursday. Meanwhile official economic data Friday showed German consumers had returned to the shops in May, exceeding analysts' forecasts who had reckoned on a fourth monthly drop in retail sales in Europe's biggest economy. Retail sales rose by 0.8 percent in May from the level in April, according to provisional adjusted figures by the federal statistics office Destatis. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast an average 0.3-percent drop, on the heels of declines in the three previous months. "The primary indicator of consumer spending in the eurozone's biggest economy provided quite a bright picture of German consumers' activity," said Gekko Markets trader Anita Paluch. "It should not be surprising though; the strong labour market, low unemployment and rising wages buoy consumer confidence and make a promising statement for the future," she added. France, the eurozone's second-biggest economy, said on Friday that its national debt rose to 91.7 percent of annual output in the first quarter of this year, amid rising concern about French public finances. At the end of last year, the debt amounted to 90.2 percent of gross domestic product. European Union rules require the public debt to be no more than 60 percent of output or falling towards this ratio. In company activity, shares in ailing French auto group PSA Peugeot Citroen fell sharply amid reports, and a denial, that the US group General Motors could take control and inject cash. PSA shares fell 2.7 percent to 6.33 euros. On Thursday the shares had jumped 5.47 percent in an initial response to a report that GM could take control. Trading on Wall Street was also volatile, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.22 percent to 14,990.78 points in midday trading. The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 1,613.01 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.09 percent to 3,405.03 points. Blackberry shares took a heavy hit, falling 25 percent to $10.84, after turning in a surprise $84 million loss for the quarter to June 1, despite a pickup in revenues from the launch of the company's new smartphone.