Investing.com - European stocks remained lower on Thursday, after the release of globally disappointing economic reports from the euro zone and China weighed on market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.46%, while Germany’s DAX 30 plummeted 1.24%.
Data showed that private sector activity in the euro zone eased in February, as a modest pickup in sector activity was offset by a slowdown in the rate of manufacturing output.
The Markit euro zone composite output purchasing managers’ index ticked down to a two month low of 52.7 this month, but remained close to January’s 31-month high of 52.9.
Germany’s composite output index rose to a 32-month high of 56.1, indicating that the recovery in the euro zone’s largest economy is looking more sustainable.
However, France’s composite output index fell to a two-month low of 47.6 in February, as service sector activity declined at the fastest rate in nine months.
Market sentiment had weakened earlier after data showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index fell to a seven month low of 48.3 this month, down from 49.5 in January, remaining below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction for a second month.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale tumbled 1.44% and 1.50%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank lost 1.46%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo dropped 1.82% and 1.52% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA declined 0.89% and 1.15%.
Adding to losses, Air France-KLM was down 0.58% after saying an earnings recovery driven by cost cuts under new Chief Executive Officer Alexandre de Juniac is picking up speed. The group also reiterated a plan to increase profit this year and further reduce debt.
Meanwhile, Danone surged 2.32%, even as the yogurt maker predicted a weak start to 2014 after reporting the first annual earnings decline in more than a decade after a botulism scare hurt baby-food sales in Asia.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.34%, as U.K. lenders continued to track their European counterparts lower.
Shares in Barclays shed 0.34% and HSBC Holdgins dropped 0.65%, while Lloyds Banking and the Royal Bank of Scotland plummeted 1.03% and 1.53%.
Mining stocks also remained sharply lower, as Glencore Xstrata declined 2.29% and Fresnillo plunged 2.92%, while Vedanta Resources dove 6.15%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.14% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% decline.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on consumer price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.