EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Slide After U.S. Data, ECB Meeting

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets moved broadly lower in afternoon action on Thursday after strong U.S. growth data stirred tapering fears and as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled no further easing measures on tap.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.5% to 315.64, putting it on track for the lowest close since October.

Shares of Metro AG fell 4.4% after Morgan Stanley cut the German retailer to equal weight from overweight as the share price breached the bank's price target earlier in the week and the analysts "struggle to identify any near-term catalysts."

Sydbank AS lost 4.5% after the Danish bank said it would book impairment charges of around 850 million Danish kroner ($155 million) in the fourth quarter.

Drax Group PLC rose 2.8% after J.P. Morgan Cazenove lifted the utility firm to overweight from neutral.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gave up 0.1% to 6,503.22.

France's CAC 40 index fell 0.5% to 4,130.55, while Germany's DAX 30 index slipped 0.1% to 9,136.42.

Investors digested the latest interest-rate decisions from two of Europe's biggest central banks. The ECB left its key lending rate at a record low of 0.25% and made no changes to other official rates.

The central bank last month cut its lending rate by 25 basis points in an effort to boost growth and stave off low inflation. Since then, market participants have speculated whether the central bank would launch unconventional easing measures such as quantitative easing or negative deposit rates to further stimulate the euro-zone economy.

ECB President Mario Draghi said at the afternoon news conference that the Governing Council didn't identify any particular instrument as a potential tool in case further action is needed, although he emphasized that it is aware of the downside risks implied by a protracted period of low inflation.

ECB staff cut the 2014 annual inflation forecast to 1.1% from an earlier estimate of 1.3%, which was broadly expected. Draghi stressed that the bank's forward guidance is working, offering little reason to think the central bank is in a hurry to take additional policy action.

The Bank of England also offered no surprises at its December policy meeting, leaving the size of its bond-buying program unchanged and holding its lending rate at a record low of 0.5%, where it has stood since March 2009. The central bank's monetary policy committee left its asset purchases, the centerpiece of its quantitative-easing strategy, at 375 billion pounds ($614 billion).

Also on Thursday, the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered his Autumn Statement on the economy to members of parliament, including the latest forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR more than doubled its growth forecast for the U.K. for 2013 to 1.4% from an earlier forecast of 0.6% and raised the outlook for 2014 to 2.4% from 1.8%.

Solid data out of the U.S. added pressure on stock markets in afternoon action as they strengthened the case for the Federal Reserve to taper its asset purchases. Third-quarter GDP expanded by 3.6%, better than the 3.2% expected by economists polled by MarketWatch and up from an initial reading of 2.8%. U.S. stocks traded lower for a fifth straight day.

Meanwhile, jobless claims dropped by 23,000 last week to 298,000, falling below 300,000 for only the second time since the recession ended in 2009. The data came ahead of the all-important nonfarm payrolls on Friday, which could add further fuel to the tapering debate.

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