The European markets fell for the second day on Thursday, as investors were worried over the fiscal woes in Greece, Portugal and Spain and U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly increased.
The U.S. Labor Department said in its report that initial jobless claims edged up to 480,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 472,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to fall to 455,000 from the 470,000 originally reported for the previous week.
As expected, the European Central Bank on Thursday kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 1% for the ninth consecutive month. The Bank of England also decided to retain the key interest rate at a historic low of 0.5%, and paused its £200 billion bond-purchase plan.
Crude for March delivery fell $4.00 to $72.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, by the time European markets closed.
The FTSEurofrist 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 2.75% lower at 992.96 points, while the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index fell 2.83% to 2,425.13 points.
Around Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 2.17% to 5,139.31, while France's CAC 40 index dropped 2.75% to 3,689.25 and Germany's DAX index slipped 2.45% to 5,533.24.
Banking stocks were among the biggest losers. Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo slipped 5% and Spain's Banco Santander tumbled 9.4%. HSBC, Europe's largest bank, slipped 3.7%, while BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, dropped 5.4% and Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second biggest lender, slid 7.4%.
Royal/Dutch Shell, Europe's second biggest oil company, fell 2.1% after the company reported a 75% drop in fourth quarter CCS profit.
Other oil stock also edged lower, as crude oil prices dropped. BP, Europe's biggest oil company, slipped 1.9% and Total, the third biggest, sank 1.86%.
Consumer goods giant Unilever fell 3.5% after the company reported a decline in fourth quarter profit, as turnover decreased 5%.
On the other hand, Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company, rose 3.6% after the company raised its full year cash flow forecast.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.