London: European stocks closed lower Friday, weighed down by declines in banking and healthcare stocks, ending a four-day winning streak.

According to Qatar News Agency, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1 percent, marking its biggest daily drop in more than three months. Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 100 indices, which had reached record highs earlier in the week, also experienced declines, with the DAX falling 0.8 percent and the FTSE 100 dropping 0.4 percent.

European banking stocks were particularly affected, declining by 1.8 percent. Shares of DNB, Norway's largest bank, plummeted 8.8 percent following the bank's report of a drop in second-quarter profits, attributed to lower interest income and higher than anticipated loan losses.

The healthcare sector also faced downturns, notably with Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's shares decreasing by 3.6 percent.

Conversely, British energy company BP saw a rise of 3.4 percent after it announced that its second-quarter production from exploration operations would exceed previous estimates.

Despite the day's downturn, most European blue-chip stocks concluded the week with gains of more than 1 percent. The auto and mining sectors emerged as the best performers this week, while the telecommunications sector was identified as the biggest loser.