European stocks dropped

European stocks dropped, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index heading for its biggest weekly decline this month, as investors awaited data on American gross domestic product growth amid concern company earnings are deteriorating.

In Europe, reports showed that French consumer sentiment dropped in October, while Spain’s unemployment rate climbed to a record in the third quarter as a deepening recession left one in four workers jobless.

Ericsson dropped 4.4 percent to 57.85 kronor, the sharpest decrease in three months. The world’s largest maker of mobile- phone networks reported a third-quarter gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after production costs, that slid to 30.4 percent from 35 percent, missing the average estimate of 32.2 percent.

French banks declined, leading a gauge of European (SXXP) lenders lower for the worst performance as a group on the Stoxx 600. BNP Paribas SA slid 2.8 percent to 38.53 euros. Credit Agricole SA fell 3.7 percent to 5.78 euros, a two-week low. Societe Generale SA lost 3.1 percent to 24.11 euros.

S&P cut BNP’s long-term counterparty credit grade by one level to A+ from AA-. The ratings company also revised its outlook to negative from stable for 10 other French banks, including Credit Agricole and Societe Generale.

Novo Nordisk, the world’s biggest insulin maker, fell 2.2 percent to 940 kroner after U.S. regulators disclosed that a scheduled advisory-panel meeting on the diabetes treatment Tresiba will focus on cardiovascular risks.

FTSE 100 5,767.7 -37.35 -0.64%

CAC 40 3,397.57 -13.96 -0.41%