The European markets fell for the second day on Thursday, as banking stocks erased earlier gains after Standard & Poor's said it no longer classifies Britain's banking system among the most stable and low-risk in the world and commodity stocks declined on weaker crude oil and metals prices.
In macro-economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department said in its report that durable goods orders edged up by 0.3% in December after falling by a revised 0.4% in November. Economists had been expecting orders to increase by about 2.0% compared to the 0.7% decrease originally reported for the previous month.
The U.S Labor Department said that initial jobless claims slipped to 470,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 478,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to fall to 450,000 from the 482,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Crude for March delivery fell $0.22 to $73.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, by the time the European markets closed.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of pan-European blue chips closed 1.19% lower at 1,001.73 points, while the narrower DJ Stoxx 50 index fell 1.39% to 2,454.12 points.
Around Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index fell 1.37% to 5,145.74, while France's CAC 40 index dropped 1.89% to 3,688.79 and Germany's DAX index slipped 1.82% to 5,540.33.
Banking shares erased earlier gains to finish among the biggest losers after rating agency Standard & Poor's said in a report that it no longer classifies the United Kingdom "among the most stable and low-risk banking systems globally." Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's biggest government-controlled bank, and BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, both fell 1.3%, while Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered slipped 2.6%.
Heavily weighted oil stocks lost ground after crude oil prices declined. BP, Europe's biggest oil company, fell 1.2%, while Royal/Dutch Shell, the second biggest, slipped 2.1% and Total, the third biggest, dropped 2.6%.
Similarly, mining stocks declined after metals prices retreated. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, fell 2.4%, while Anglo American, the second biggest, dropped 3.3% and Rio Tinto, the third biggest, slipped 2.5%. Copper miner Antofagasta lost 3.9%.
AstraZeneca sank 4.6% after the U.K. drugmaker reported fourth quarter profit that missed analysts' estimate.
SKF, the world's largest maker of ball bearings, tumbled 7% after the company's fourth quarter profit came in below analysts' expectations.
K+S and Yara International fell 3.5% and 2.3%, respectively, after Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a 69% drop in fourth quarter profit.
On the other hand, Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, jumped 9.9% after the company reported fourth quarter profit and sales above analysts' estimates.
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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.