By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stocks across Europe dropped Thursday,
with investors waiting to hear from the European Central Bank about
what it plans to do next to tackle low inflation levels and
stagnating growth in the eurozone.
Stimulus questions: The European Central Bank will release its
rate policy decision at 12:45 p.m. London time, or 7:45 a.m.
Eastern Time, and ECB President Mario Draghi will hold his news
conference 45 minutes later. A raft of recent data have highlighted
worsening economic conditions in the eurozone, including
Wednesday's report showing manufacturing-sector activity in Germany
-- Europe's biggest economy -- contracted and hit a 15-month
low.
Markets: The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.9% to 337.31 in broad-based
losses. European equities felt the weight of heavy losses Wednesday
on Wall Street as signs of momentum in the U.S. economy stoked
worries the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner rather
than later.
The European oil and gas group stumbled more than 1%, as
crude-oil futures slid below $90 for the first time since April
2013 after Saudi Arabia said it will cut the selling price of its
oil.
Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.3%, France's CAC 40 lost 0.6% and the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.5%.
In the markets, Bayer AG said it sold $7 billion worth of bonds
in an effort to finance its purchase of Merck & Co.'s (MRK)
over-the-counter medicine business. Shares of Bayer were down
0.9%.
In Frankfurt, Rocket Internet AG shares made their trading
debut. They were at 40.66 euros in mid-morning action, down from
their issue price of EUR42.50.
Comments: The ECB wants "to get lending going again," as bank
loans account for nearly 80% of corporate loans in the eurozone,
compared with about 50% in the U.S., said Marshall Gittler, head of
global currency strategy at IronFX, in a note.
The three main questions about the upcoming buying program will
be what credit ratings the ECB require, what kind of underlying
collateral will it accept and how much it will buy, said
Gittler.
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