- The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally down 0.46 percent, with the majority of Europe's industries finishing lower
- The Bank of England and European Central Bank both held fire on changing their interest rate strategy Thursday
European stocks finished Thursday's trading day in negative territory.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed provisionally down 0.46 percent, with the majority of Europe's industries finishing lower. Basic resources outperformed, however, closing up 0.68 percent.
Looking to bourses, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.65 percent, while France's CAC 40 dropped 0.78 percent and Germany's DAX fell 0.44 percent. Athens' exchange, however, rose more than 2 percent, while the country's 10-year government bond yield touched its lowest in almost 10 years, Reuters reported.
Utilities was the worst performing sector Thursday, closing down 1.29 percent, with most of its stocks closing in the red. Industrials also came under pressure, amid worse-than-anticipated company forecasts for 2018.
Capita announced that it was on course to reach its full-year profit target yet warned some upcoming work was unlikely to provide an immediate boost. The outsourcer also cited challenging market conditions as it struggled to secure major contracts. Shares consequently slumped 12.6 percent.
Meanwhile, Steinhoff tumbled to the bottom of the European benchmark after the South African retailer said it would have to restate its 2016 financial results. Shares tanked over 13 percent.
Looking at stocks, shares of Denmark's wind power firm Vestas popped 7.06 percent after reports of a positive compromise between the two chambers of Congress regarding a U.S. tax overhaul. Vestas, which has a large exposure to the U.S. market, has previously criticized the tax bill for cutting support to the wind turbine market. Fellow renewable energy firm Siemens Gamesa rose on the back of this, closing up 3.5 percent.
