European stock markets erased earlier gains on Thursday as U.S. markets were dragged down by plunging technology shares.
Toward the end of the European trading session, France’s CAC 40 was down 1.04%; Germany's DAX slipped 0.95%; the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.89%; and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.56%.
In the United States, stock markets fell as Apple Inc. slumped a day after introducing its iPad tablet computer and Qualcomm Inc. lowered its sales forecast.
The European markets also fell in the wake of disappointing data on durable goods orders in December and jobless claims last week.