German stocks plunged on Friday, as banks suffered heavy losses on concerns over the collapse of pro-crypto Silvergate bank coupled with the hawkish stance taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Investors waited for the release of monthly U.S. jobs report later in the day that could reinforce expectations of a bigger rate hike later this month.
The benchmark DAX was down 263 points, or 1.7 percent, at 15,370 after ending flat with a positive bias the previous day.
Commerzbank shares plummeted 5 percent and Deutsche Bank lost about 8 percent after U.S. tech-industry lender SVB Financial Group launched a share sale to shore up its balance sheet due to declining deposits from startups struggling for funding.
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