EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Drop For Third Day, On Track For Monthly Pullback

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

European stocks fell Thursday and moved toward a monthly loss, as investors weighed a rise in the euro and concerns about slowing global growth.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% to 395.86, led by declines in technology, health care and mining shares. The pullback was the benchmark's third in a row, with Wednesday's 2.2% selloff (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-gain-as-corporate-results-roll-in-fed-in-focus-2015-04-29) underpinned by U.S. data that showed meager growth in the world's largest economy in the first quarter.

"Confidence certainly seems to have been shaken up, with a few unknowns impacting investors," said IG Market Strategist Stan Shamu in a note Thursday. There was "an unprecedented QE program by the U.S. and, judging by the way data is going, the economy isn't quite able to stand on its own two feet yet."

The Stoxx 600 was facing a monthly loss of 0.2%.

Data: Eurozone inflation rose to 0% in April (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-consumer-prices-steady-after-declines-2015-04-30) from negative 0.1% in March. Inflation expectations are watched by the European Central Bank in setting its monetary policy, especially in connection with its quantitative-easing program.

German jobless claims in April were down 8,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/german-jobless-claims-fall-by-less-than-expected-2015-04-30) from March, less than the decline of 13,000 forecast in a Wall Street Journal poll of economists.

Euro: The euro (EURUSD) held steady at $1.1215 after the inflation data. It resumed its advance against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, as investors appeared to shrug off a statement from the Federal Reserve that suggested an interest-rate increase in June remains a possibility (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-hits-3-week-low-against-euro-ahead-of-gdp-fed-statement-2015-04-29).

The euro on Wednesday posted its best day against the dollar in six weeks, a move that contributed to a 3.2% slide in Germany's DAX 30 . On Thursday, the DAX rose 0.3% to 11,466.64.

Corporates: Among stock movers, French steel-pipe maker Vallourec SA was the worst performer on the Stoxx 600, with shares tumbling 15.6%. The sharpest decline in nearly three years came after the company late Wednesday swung to a first-quarter loss of EUR76 million (http://www.wsj.com/articles/vallourec-swings-to-loss-cuts-jobs-1430333521)($84.4 million), and revenue fell more than 17%, under pressure as demand from energy companies softens. Standard & Poor's downgraded Vallourec's credit rating late Wednesday.

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