By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks dropped Thursday,
pushing the Stoxx Europe 600 further into correction and extending
the recent frenzied selloff, which has been stoked by fears that
global economic growth is stagnating.
Amid concerns about low inflation, a final reading of eurozone
inflation in September released Thursday confirmed consumer prices
were just 0.3% higher than in September 2013. The inflation rate
has now been below 1% for 12 straight months. The European Central
Bank's inflation goal is just below 2%.
There are "some indications of a possible slowdown in global
growth -- not only in Europe but in other parts of the world,"
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in Milan on
Thursday. Stimulus for domestic demand and supply-side measures are
needed to fend off risks of slower growth, he said.
Markets: After a brief period of gains, the Stoxx Europe 600
index fell as much as 2.9%. The index closed down 0.4% at 310.03,
moving off session lows as trading got underway in the U.S. Wall
Street logged brief gains after a hawkish Federal Reserve official,
James Bullard, said the Fed should consider extending its
bond-buying program beyond October to see how the U.S. economic
outlook evolves.
Germany's DAX 30 fought for a higher close, ending up 0.1% at
8,582.90. Its decline on Wednesday left the benchmark down 14.5%
from its 2014 closing high, hit in July, according to Dow Jones
data.
Spanish and Italian stocks ended lower, with benchmarks in those
markets losing 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively. France's CAC 40 lost
0.5%, paring an intraday loss of more than 3%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100
fell 0.3%.
The Stoxx 600 on Wednesday slid 3.2% and marked an 11% fall from
its 2014 closing high of 349.71, reached on June 10.
Thursday's movers: Shire PLC dropped 7.3% after U.S. drug maker
AbbVie Inc.'s (ABBV) board pulled its recommendation to buy the
British biopharmaceutical company.
Shares of Nestlé SA fell 3% after the food maker said it's on
"high alert" in monitoring developments related to the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa, where it sources some of its cocoa. Nestlé
also posted a 3.1% fall in sales for the nine months ending Sept.
30.
Telecom Italia SpA slumped 4% as the company's chairman
dismissed a press report that the Italian government was looking at
a spinoff of the telecom operator's fixed-line network.
Man Group PLC climbed 3.1% after British hedge fund manager
posted a 25% increase in funds under management during the third
quarter.
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