European Stocks Drop as Traders Rush Out of Banks on Turkey Risk

European stocks extended their losses on Friday afternoon as the meltdown in the Turkish lira spurred concerns about an economic crisis that could spread to other emerging markets and rattle the European banking sector.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated as much as 1.2 percent, the most in a month, on track to post a weekly loss of 0.9 percent. Technical charts showed the benchmark broke below both its 50- and 200-day moving averages, sending a bearish signal. BBVA fell 5.3 percent, UniCredit dropped 5.2 percent and BNP Paribas sank 4.1 percent.