Euro banking deal fails to impress markets

LONDON (AP) - A sketchy agreement on how to create a single European banking supervisor combined with a run of disappointing United States (US) corporate earnings hit markets on Friday at the end of what has been a fairly upbeat week.

The bout of pessimism began on Thursday when Google surprised investors by publishing by mistake its worse-than-expected earnings ahead of schedule.

Microsoft also disappointed with its latest update, contributing to a broad retreat in technology stocks, as did McDonald's and General Electric.

"After what had started to look like a relatively upbeat season, investors are now looking a little more wary," said Mr Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets.