Financial stocks drag European markets lower

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window) March 24 (Reuters) - Bank and financial services stocks dragged European markets lower on Friday as concerns remained about the health of the sector, with news of a U.S. probe on Credit Suisse and UBS piling more pressure on the stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.9% by 0809 GMT, but a sharp recovery earlier this week put it on track for weekly gains.

Shares of Credit Suisse AG and UBS Group AG fell 6.4% and 6.3%, respectively, after Bloomberg News reported they are among the banks under scrutiny in a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into whether financial professionals helped Russian oligarchs evade sanctions. Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International slipped 1.8% after Reuters reported the European Central Bank is pressing the bank to unwind its highly profitable business in Russia. Overall, European banks fell 2.3%, with Deutsche Bank down 5.4% after a sharp jump in the cost of insuring against the risk of default late the day before. Financial services shares were down 1.5%. Flash readings of S&P Global's March business activity for the euro zone and UK will be released later in the day.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)

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Financial stocks drag European markets lower

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