Investing.com - European stocks declined on Thursday, after disappointing economic reports from Germany, France and Spain and as concerns over Greece's debt troubles persisted.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.89%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.98%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slumped 0.88%.
Market research group Markit said that Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 54.2 this month from a reading of 55.4 in March.
Germany's services PMI slipped to 54.4 in April from 55.4 the previous month, Markit reported, confounding expectations for a rise to 55.5.
Markit also said that France's manufacturing PMI fell to 48.4 this month from 48.8 in March, compared to expectations for a rise to 49.2.
France's services PMI slipped to 50.8 in April from a reading of 52.4 the previous month, disappointing expectations for an uptick to 52.5.
A separate report showed that Spain's unemployment rate rose to 23.8% in the first quarter from 23.7% in the three months to December. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to slip to 23.6% in the last quarter.
Investors also remained cautious as the Greek government was no closer to reaching an agreement with its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund over economic reforms required to access remaining bailout funds, fuelling fears that the country could be forced out of the euro zone.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 0.41% and 0.75%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) fell 0.13%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) slid 0.33% and 0.52% respectively, while Spanish bank BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) edged 0.11% lower.
On the upside, Michelin (PARIS:MICP) surged 5.33% and Pernod Ricard (PARIS:PERP) rallied 2.77% after both companies reported an increase in quarterly sales.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dipped 0.03%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) fell 0.23% and Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) lost 0.30%, while Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) tumbled 1.71% and Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) plummeted 2.55%.
WPP (LONDON:WPP) added to losses, with shares plunging 1.97% even as the world's largest advertising company said that first-quarter revenue climbed 8.3%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks were broadly higher. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) eased up 0.06% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) added 0.14%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) and Barclays (LONDON:BARC) gained 0.40% and 0.48% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.41% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.42% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.42% drop.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release survey data on private sector economic activity, while the U.S. was to report on initial jobless claims and new home sales.