UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

SCA shares rally on report of $22 billion bid for hygiene unit

European stocks slid Thursday, after President Donald Trump's comments on the dollar prompted doubts about the rest of his administration's agenda.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.5% to 380.13, retreating after ending Wednesday's session at its highest since early December 2015. All sectors were lower Thursday, led by the oil and gas, financial and utilities group.

Thursday marks the last day of the trading week, as the equity market will be closed tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday. Trading will also be closed Monday in observance of Easter.

Read:When are European stock markets closed for Easter? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/when-are-european-stock-markets-closed-for-the-easter-holiday-2017-04-12)

For the shortened week, the Stoxx 600 was on track for a loss of 0.3%, which would be the first pullback in three weeks.

Dollar and Trump: The dollar was knocked down late Thursday, and was lower Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal the U.S. currency "is getting too strong" (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-comes-around-to-the-sound-of-the-phrase-strong-dollar-2017-04-12) and he would prefer the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low.

This is a "dramatic shift in rhetoric" from the U.S. president, given they contradict two of his key themes on the election campaign trail, said Marios Hadjikyriacos, an IronFX analyst, in a note. Trump had promised action against China and others he saw as currency manipulators, and had said the Fed's approach was keeping a lid on interest rates.

Read: J.P. Morgan says the Trump/Ryan premium is fading (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-will-be-stuck-in-purgatory-until-this-happens-2017-04-12)

"With Trump backpedaling on higher rates and currency manipulators, markets could become increasingly more skeptical regarding his ability and/or willingness to deliver on the rest of his agenda, namely tax and regulatory reform," Hadjikyriacos said.

"Heightened concerns on these issues could lead to a further unwinding of the post-election rally in [the dollar] and equities," he noted.

Banks in focus: Investors will listen for what Wall Street banks may say about the outlook for U.S. regulatory changes when U.S. banking heavyweights Citigroup Inc. (C), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) release financial results later Thursday.

See:J.P. Morgan earnings -- expect strong trading results, talk of regulations and tax reform (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jp-morgan-earnings-expect-strong-trading-results-talk-of-regulations-and-tax-reform-2017-04-10)

Bank shares globally have risen on the prospect the Trump administration will relax rules for financial firms, but those hopes have been tempered on uncertainty about the implementation of that policy. The Stoxx Europe 600 Bank Index was down 1.2% on Thursday.

Dollar drops: The greenback's slide helped lift the dollar-denominated prices for metals, including copper and gold futures. But that failed to give a boost to shares of European miners .

   Also lackluster in the wake of the buck's decline were oil futures   and European energy stocks  . 

Dollar-priced commodities tend to rise when the greenback drops, as the fall makes them less expensive to buy for holders of other currencies.

Movers: Svenska Cellulosa AB shares (SCA-B.SK) rallied 7.5% after Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter said a group of private equity firms were seeking to buy SCA's hygiene unit for roughly 200 billion Swedish crowns ($22 billion).

National indexes: Germany's DAX 30 index lost 0.3% to 12,115.91, and France's CAC 40 shed 0.5% at 5,074.79.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 7,313.98. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-miners-drag-ftse-100-lower-2017-04-13)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-miners-drag-ftse-100-lower-2017-04-13)The euro was buying $1.0646, compared with $1.0668 late Wednesday in New York.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 13, 2017 06:20 ET (10:20 GMT)

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