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By Emily Horton

Europe's indexes fell on Friday, after economic slowdown fears were compounded by data showing a slump in Chinese exports.

Disappointing figures from Germany's manufacturing sector added to the gloom, a day after the European Central Bank announced cuts to its growth forecast.

How are markets performing?

The Stoxx Europe 600 , fell by 0.6% to 371.73 after finishing down 0.4% on Thursday evening.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was the region's top decliner, tumbling 0.8% to 7,103.59, while Germany's DAX (DAX) fell 0.6% to 11,450.11.

France's CAC 40 dropped by 0.4% to 5,245.39 and Italy's FTSE MIB index fell by 0.6% to 20,587.64, while Spain's IBEX 35 tumbled 0.8% to 20,607.86.

The pound was up, fetching $1.3095 from $1.3083, while the euro climbed to $1.1208 from $1.1194 late in New York on Thursday.

What's driving the markets?

Official data released on Friday showed that China's exports fell almost 21% last month (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-exports-plummeted-20-in-february-2019-03-07), reinforcing investor fears that a broader global economic slowdown won't be softened by any trade deal reached between the U.S. and China.

Asian markets tumbled (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-sink-on-trade-deal-worries-weak-china-export-data-2019-03-07) on the news, sending the Nikkei225 in to its worst weekly performance since December and causing European markets to open sharply lower.

German factory data for January also showed another heavy decline (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-manufacturing-orders-plunge-in-january-2019-03-08), falling 2.6%, just a day after the European Central Bank cut its growth forecast and launched new measures to stimulate a dwindling economy.

"Chinese exports saw their biggest fall in three years in February amid the trade war with the U.S.nd German industrial orders fell by their steepest amount in seven months in January. It is understandable why investors have been so worried about the outlook for global growth when you see figures like these," says Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell said in a client note.

What stocks are active?

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK.XE) has reportedly (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-08/deutsche-bank-commerzbank-merger-talks-are-said-to-intensify) intensified its merger talks with Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE). The former's shares fell 0.6% while Commerzbank's rose 0.3%.

After Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE)announced plans to cut an additional 5,000 administrative jobs by 2023 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/volkswagen-to-cut-5000-jobs-by-2023-report-2019-03-08), the car manufacturer fell by 1.5%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 08, 2019 05:22 ET (10:22 GMT)

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