EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Retreat Deeper Into Correction Territory

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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