EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Fall From Six-year High

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets declined on Friday after a string of disappointing corporate updates, falling from a six-year high reached the prior day when European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted at a rate cut next month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% to 338.58, after closing with a 1.1% gain on Thursday.

Pulling the benchmark lower, shares of Telefonica SA (TEF) lost 2.4% after the Spanish telecom firm reported a drop in first-quarter profit that also missed market expectations.

Petrofac Ltd. slumped 17% in London after the oil-services firm issued a profit warning and said it expects profit to fall in 2014.

Shares of ArcelorMittal SA dropped 2.2% after the world's largest steelmaker reported a loss for the first quarter.

On a more upbeat note, shares of Vestas Wind Systems AS rallied 5.9%. The wind-turbine maker said it swung to a profit in the first quarter, partly due to a 17% increase in revenue amid stronger demand.

The broader losses in Europe came after a solid session on Thursday, when Draghi said the ECB's Governing Council would be "comfortable" with loosening policy at its June meeting, with the caveat that policy makers want to see the June update of staff economic forecasts.

The comment came after the ECB kept policy on hold at its meeting on Thursday, ignoring European and international calls for action to fight off low inflation and weaken the strong euro.

Among country-specific indexes on Friday, Germany's DAX 30 gave up 0.3% to 9,576.76 after a set of disappointing trade data. The March numbers showed exports declined, while the country's trade surplus was lower than expected, adding to a series of weaker economic indicators for the month.

Portugal's PSI 20 index dropped 0.9% to 7,375.18, amid positive comments from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The ratings company lifted its outlook on Portugal to stable from negative, saying the country's economic and budgetary performance has outpaced its expectations.

France's CAC 40 index fell 0.5% to 4,487.12, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gave up 0.3% to 6,820.24.

Investors in London largely ignored strong factory data, showing U.K. factory output between January and March rose at the fastest quarterly pace in almost 15 years.

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