European shares are seen opening lower on Friday, extending recent steep losses, as Fitch downgraded Greece deeper into junk territory and Moody's Investor Service announced a sweeping downgrade of 16 Spanish banks, adding to concerns about Europe's worsening financial woes. There are also concerns about the stability of the U.S. economy following weak U.S. manufacturing data released overnight.
Ratings agency Fitch downgraded Greece's long term credit rating to 'CCC' from 'B-' reflecting the heightened risk that the nation may not be able to sustain its membership in the 17-nation eurozone. The Greek rating cut came as leaders began campaigning ahead of the second national vote on June 17.
Separately, Moody's downgraded the long-term debt as well as deposit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, including Spain's two largest banks Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, citing rising loan defaults, a renewed recession in Spain, restricted funding access and the reduced ability of the Spanish government to support lenders.
Asian stock markets tumbled on worries about contagion from Greece spreading to other stressed euro zone economies. Among the prominent decliners, Australia's All Ordinaries index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Japan's Nikkei average, Singapore's Straits Times, South Korea's Kospi average and the Taiwan Weighted are down 2-3 percent.
Commodities such as crude, copper and gold are weaker and the euro continues to remain under pressure against the greenback and the Japanese yen, as worries intensified over Spanish banks and U.S. recovery. There is a little bit of solace as a recent poll showed that most Greeks want to stay in the euro zone.
In corporate news, steel giant ArcelorMittal announced the sale of its steel foundation distribution business in NAFTA to Nucor Corp for about $605 million.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc said its tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Human Genome Sciences represents "full and fair value" and is in the best interests of shareholders.
A slew of insurance giants are vying to acquire Dutch lender ING Groep N.V.'s Asian life-insurance arm in a bidding war that is expected to bring in a windfall for ING, media reports say.
Biopharmaceutical company Gentium S.p.A reported a first-quarter net loss of EUR 0.9 million or EUR 0.06 per share compared to net income of EUR 1.7 million or EUR 0.109 per share in the comparable quarter last year.
European stocks extended their losing streak on Thursday, as concerns about Spain's economy and continued worries over Greece leaving the euro kept investors on the edge. Weak economic data from the U.S. also weighed on sentiment as several markets remained closed due to the Ascension Day holiday.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks fell 1.3 percent and the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 1.1 percent, while around Europe, the German DAX, France's CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all fell around 1.2 percent each. The Swiss market was closed.
U.S. stocks posted notable losses overnight, as weaker-than-expected data on regional manufacturing activity and the Conference Board's leading economic indicators index coupled with news that Fitch Ratings has downgraded Greece's long-term debt ratings further deeper into junk territory prompted investors to avoid riskier assets. The Dow and the S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, to hit four-month closing lows, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 2.1 percent to end at its lowest level in over three months.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.