European markets close lower as global investor mood sours; Stoxx 600 down 1.5%

Hydro CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim discusses the economic impact of Russia's war in Ukraine, renews calls for the European Union to impose sanctions on Russian aluminum and the firm's outlook for 2023.

Chairman of Spanish bank BBVA, Carlos Torres Vila, says the normalization of the interest rate environment in 2023 will support European banks. He also discussed how recent data was fueling optimism and an increase in non-performing loans was not materializing.

British investment fund platform Allfunds Group saw its shares fall more than 7% to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 in early trade after HSBC downgraded the stock to "hold" from "buy" and cut its target price.

German electrical company Encavis fell 6% after Barclays downgraded its stock to "underweight" from "equal weight" and cut its target price.

- Elliot Smith

Investment veteran Andrew Slimmon said he believes stocks are going to do "far better" than most expect this year.

"I'm not so sure about the second half of this year but I think the surprise is going to be that the stock market is going to do better earlier this year than what was almost universally predicted by many of the strategists on the sell side," Slimmon, senior portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Friday.

He also named two of his favorite stocks.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

After a rough 2022, some investors are flocking back to tech, but investment veteran Michael Landsberg is giving the sector a miss.

He favors safer sectors and shares the name of five companies he expects to ride out the "current storm."

Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Zavier Ong

Investors should brace themselves for stocks' strong start to the year to be short-lived and tame hopes that inflation is peaking, says UBS Global Wealth Management CIO Mark Haefele.

"Risk assets have had a positive start to 2023, with investors encouraged by signs of fading inflation and a swift reopening in China," he said in a note Wednesday. "A relatively warm winter has also eased concerns over energy shortages in Europe."

"It remains too early to assume that the inflation threat has fully passed. While December headline inflation data in both the US and Eurozone continued to point to a deceleration, core inflation has still remained well above central bank targets."

— Tanaya Macheel

Many investors are bracing themselves for a tough year, with at least a mild recession looking likely.

Because of the "darkening" economic environment, fund manager Trent Masters of Alphinity Investment Management told CNBC Pro Talks that he picks stocks with one key quality: earnings resilience.

He names one "rock solid" stock that meets that criterion.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Good morning from London, and welcome to CNBC's live blog covering all the action and business news in European financial markets on Thursday.

Futures data from IG suggests a generally positive open for European indexes, with London's FTSE 100 seen opening 0.15% higher, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX are seen opening around the flatline, and Italy's FTSE MIB slightly higher.

The pullback in sentiment among European bourses comes ahead of the latest indicator of the state of health of major regional economies, with gross domestic product readings from the U.K. and European Union on Thursday.

European markets had ended the day higher on Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising 0.55% after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rallied to new records yesterday. Investors are gearing up for more inflation data to assess the state of the U.S. economy.

The producer price index, due Thursday, will be significant factors in the direction interest rates take at the Federal Reserve's next meeting in September.

— Holly Ellyatt