Investing.com - European stock markets remained sharply lower on Thursday, as global growth concerns spurred by downbeat euro zone and Chinese reports overshadowed better-than-expected U.S. employment data.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.48%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.57%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 1.39%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 17 fell to 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008.
But sentiment remained under pressure after preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone slumped unexpectedly in March, remaining in contraction territory for the eighth consecutive month, sparking concerns that the region’s economy is sliding back into a recession.
Service sector activity in the euro zone declined to the lowest level in four months in March.
The data came after a report showing that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth consecutive month, underlining concerns over a possible slowdown in growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Energy management group Schneider Electric and steel company ArcelorMittal were among the top losers of the day, with shares plunging 4.66% and 2.85% respectively.
Financial stocks also remained sharply lower, as shares in German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank plummeted 2.38% and 2.21% respectively, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas plummeted 3.27% and 1.95%.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s third largest insurer, Baloise saw shares sink 4.44% after saying profit dropped 86% last year on investment losses and a writedown on Greek sovereign debt.
On the upside, Hermes surged 3.25% after the company posted earnings that beat analyst estimates and offered a bonus dividend to shareholders.
Lanxess AG, the German chemical maker spun off from Bayer AG in 2005, soared 7.02% after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates on higher demand from Brazil and China.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.75%, weighed by losses in mining stocks, while data showed that showed that U.K. retail sales fell more-than-expected in February.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dropped 2.74% and 1.45%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton saw shares sink 2.96% and 1.96% respectively.
Amec Plc lost 2.46% after JPMorgan Chase reduced its recommendation on the oil and gas engineering company to neutral from overweight.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders remained broadly lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 2.59% and Barclays tumbled 2.07%, while Lloyds banking and HSBC Holdings declined 1.97% and 0.62%.
Elsewhere, Kingfisher retailing company jumped 2.33% after the company posted net income that beat estimates, even as it said retail conditions in its home U.K. market remain “challenging.”
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.47%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.56% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% loss.
Also Thursday, official data showed that industrial new orders in the euro zone tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 2.3% in January, compared to expectations for a 2.1% drop. Industrial new orders for December were revised up to a 3.5% gain from a previously reported 1.9% increase.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were to speak at public engagements.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.48%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.57%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 1.39%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 17 fell to 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008.
But sentiment remained under pressure after preliminary data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone slumped unexpectedly in March, remaining in contraction territory for the eighth consecutive month, sparking concerns that the region’s economy is sliding back into a recession.
Service sector activity in the euro zone declined to the lowest level in four months in March.
The data came after a report showing that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth consecutive month, underlining concerns over a possible slowdown in growth in the world’s second largest economy.
Energy management group Schneider Electric and steel company ArcelorMittal were among the top losers of the day, with shares plunging 4.66% and 2.85% respectively.
Financial stocks also remained sharply lower, as shares in German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank plummeted 2.38% and 2.21% respectively, while France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas plummeted 3.27% and 1.95%.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s third largest insurer, Baloise saw shares sink 4.44% after saying profit dropped 86% last year on investment losses and a writedown on Greek sovereign debt.
On the upside, Hermes surged 3.25% after the company posted earnings that beat analyst estimates and offered a bonus dividend to shareholders.
Lanxess AG, the German chemical maker spun off from Bayer AG in 2005, soared 7.02% after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates on higher demand from Brazil and China.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.75%, weighed by losses in mining stocks, while data showed that showed that U.K. retail sales fell more-than-expected in February.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dropped 2.74% and 1.45%, while mining giants Rio Tinto and Bhp Billiton saw shares sink 2.96% and 1.96% respectively.
Amec Plc lost 2.46% after JPMorgan Chase reduced its recommendation on the oil and gas engineering company to neutral from overweight.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders remained broadly lower. Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland plunged 2.59% and Barclays tumbled 2.07%, while Lloyds banking and HSBC Holdings declined 1.97% and 0.62%.
Elsewhere, Kingfisher retailing company jumped 2.33% after the company posted net income that beat estimates, even as it said retail conditions in its home U.K. market remain “challenging.”
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.47%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.56% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.47% loss.
Also Thursday, official data showed that industrial new orders in the euro zone tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 2.3% in January, compared to expectations for a 2.1% drop. Industrial new orders for December were revised up to a 3.5% gain from a previously reported 1.9% increase.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were to speak at public engagements.