EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Falls For First Time In Three Days

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets were on track to snap a two-day winning streak on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would end its asset-purchase program.

Markets had opened in positive territory, but started to head lower in midmorning trade as U.S. stock futures indicated another downbeat day on Wall Street.

Market reaction: The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.6% to 326.89, after closing at a three-week high on Wednesday.

Italy's FTSE MIB posted one of the biggest slides, down 1.5% to 18,867.59, with banks on the decline. Shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA lost 5.2%, and Banco Popolare SC gave up 4.7%.

France's CAC 40 index fell 0.2% to 4,104.24, while Germany's DAX 30 index gave up 0.5% to 9,038.26. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slumped 0.6% to 6,414.17.

Data: Joblessness in Germany unexpectedly dropped in October, with the number of unemployed people falling by 22,000. However, it wasn't enough to also push the unemployment rate lower, which stayed at 6.7%.

"Headline data from Germany's buoyant labor market give little indication that the economic rough patch is having an impact on jobs. Instead, signs of labor-market tightness get stronger," said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg, in a note.

Spain's gross domestic product expanded by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to preliminary data, signaling that the recovery in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy is on track. Meanwhile, Spanish consumer prices fell 0.2% on the year in October, an improvement from the 0.3% drop recorded in September.

Major movers: Alcatel-Lucent SA rallied 8.9% after the network-equipment maker said it narrowed its loss in the third quarter.

Novo Nordisk AS (NVO) added 2.3% after the world's largest insulin maker reported a rise in profit and revenue.

Linde AG slumped 6.1% after the industrial-gases company warned it will miss key targets this year due to impairments and adverse currency effects.

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