12:01 PM EDT, 05/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets fell sharply in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.03%, Germany's DAX lost 1.61%, the FTSE 100 was down 0.24%, France's CAC 40 shed 1.65%, and the Swiss Market Index dropped 0.58%.

In Germany, gross domestic product grew 0.4% in Q1 compared with Q4, adjusted for price, seasonal, and calendar effects, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Analysts had forecast GDP to grow 0.2% for the quarter, according to Bloomberg. Compared with a year earlier, Q1 GDP shrank 0.2%, adjusted for price fluctuations, which met analyst forecasts, according to Bloomberg.

In the UK, retail sales volumes rose an estimated by 1.2% in April, compared with March, according to the Office for National Statistics. It is sharp increase from 0.1% growth in March. Sales volumes rose 1.8% in the three months to April compared with the three months to January. Compared with a year earlier, sales values rose 6.1%.

And in corporate news, EU antitrust authorities are looking into Visa and Mastercard's fees, transparency, and whether retailers have a choice in accepting Visa and Mastercard payments, Bloomberg reported Friday.

"Every day, Mastercard is focused on enabling commerce around the world," a company spokesperson told MT Newswires via email. "Mastercard offers consumers and businesses choice, ways to pay and be paid that are hassle-free and worry-free, secure and most convenient for them."

Visa did not immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Deutsche Bank is selling a significant risk transfer, tied to $3 billion in corporate loans through transactions involving the sale of notes in exchange for yields that can frequently top 10%, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Deutsche Bank declined to comment when reached by MT Newswires.

Shares of Deutsch Bank dropped 4.6% on the DAX in Frankfurt.

The Swiss Federal Department of Finance said Friday it is contesting a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court that the reduction or cancellation of variable remuneration for former members of Credit Suisse's management during the company's takeover by UBS Group was illegal. UBS did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of UBS were down 1.84% in Zurich trading.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk received a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to extend the current indication for Saxenda, according to a Friday statement from the regulator.

Shares of Novo Nordisk were off 0.75% in Copenhagen.

British pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca's cancer treatment imfinzi received an expanded recommendation from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to include muscle invasive bladder cancer as a new indication.

Shares of AstraZeneca gained 0.6% in London.