Investing.com - European stock markets turned lower on Thursday, as market sentiment weakened after disappointing industrial production data from Germany and amid sustained concerns over the economic outlook for the single currency bloc.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.36%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.81%.
Official data showed that German industrial production dropped 1.3% in February, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop and renewing concerns over the outlook for the bloc’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, investors remained focused on Madrid’s debt troubles after a disappointing government bond auction on Wednesday added to concerns that Spain may be the next euro zone member to require a bailout.
Also adding to concerns, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that "downside risks to the economic outlook prevail" after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1%.
Financial stocks extended earlier losses as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale plummeted 2.56% and 1.55%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank tumbled 1.37% and 3.93% respectively.
Auto makers were also among the session’s top losers with Daimler shares plunging 5.33%, Volkswagen dropping 1.35% and BMW retreating 0.99%.
Earlier in the day, Daimler reaffirmed its forecast that earnings will be steady this year even though its core Mercedes-Benz Cars unit saw deliveries rise in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, shares in Lufthansa rose 0.74% after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the German airline with an overweight recommendation. The company’s shares were hit on Wednesday after a German court ruled in favor of a night flight ban at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third busiest.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.34%, as U.K. lenders erased earlier gains and after the Bank of England left its interest rate unchanged at 0.50% and its asset purchase facility at GBP325 billion, in line with expectations.
Shares in Lloyds Banking plummeted 2.56% and Barclays plunged 1.84%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings lost 1.65% and 1.17% respectively.
HSBC Holdings was preparing to argue against the liquidator of Bernard Madoff’s firms’ appeals of judges rulings that rejected about USD30 billion of his claims.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton also turned lower, with shares sliding 0.50% and 0.31%, as did copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys, down 0.21% and 0.34%.
On the upside, Ashmore surged 3.35% after UBS upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy' and added the fund manager to its "most preferred" list.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.31%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.36%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.81%.
Official data showed that German industrial production dropped 1.3% in February, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop and renewing concerns over the outlook for the bloc’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, investors remained focused on Madrid’s debt troubles after a disappointing government bond auction on Wednesday added to concerns that Spain may be the next euro zone member to require a bailout.
Also adding to concerns, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that "downside risks to the economic outlook prevail" after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1%.
Financial stocks extended earlier losses as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale plummeted 2.56% and 1.55%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank tumbled 1.37% and 3.93% respectively.
Auto makers were also among the session’s top losers with Daimler shares plunging 5.33%, Volkswagen dropping 1.35% and BMW retreating 0.99%.
Earlier in the day, Daimler reaffirmed its forecast that earnings will be steady this year even though its core Mercedes-Benz Cars unit saw deliveries rise in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, shares in Lufthansa rose 0.74% after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage of the German airline with an overweight recommendation. The company’s shares were hit on Wednesday after a German court ruled in favor of a night flight ban at Frankfurt airport, Europe's third busiest.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.34%, as U.K. lenders erased earlier gains and after the Bank of England left its interest rate unchanged at 0.50% and its asset purchase facility at GBP325 billion, in line with expectations.
Shares in Lloyds Banking plummeted 2.56% and Barclays plunged 1.84%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings lost 1.65% and 1.17% respectively.
HSBC Holdings was preparing to argue against the liquidator of Bernard Madoff’s firms’ appeals of judges rulings that rejected about USD30 billion of his claims.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton also turned lower, with shares sliding 0.50% and 0.31%, as did copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys, down 0.21% and 0.34%.
On the upside, Ashmore surged 3.35% after UBS upgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy' and added the fund manager to its "most preferred" list.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.31%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.34% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.12% loss.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish government data on unemployment claims.