European stocks close in red on global growth worries, Fed stimulus concerns

European stocks fell sharply on Thursday as surprisingly weak data from Europe and China raised worries on global growth, a day after U.S. Federal Reserve President Ben Bernanke hinted at a possible tapering of the Fed’s bond-buying program .

Chinese factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months, adding to concerns that the world`s second-biggest economy had stalled. European factory sentiment dropped, suggested that the euro zone`s economy was likely to contract again in the second quarter.

Bernanke said that if economic improvement continued, the Fed "could in the next few meetings take a step down in our pace of purchases," although Fed officials have been at pains to stress that no action is likely for months.

The benchmark index for Europe, the STOXX 600 ended lower by 2.12% to 303.99 points, and STOXX 50 ended down by 2.05% at 2776.78 points.

CAC 40 Index  

The French benchmark index was covered in red by closing, down by 83.96 points or 2.07% to close at 3967.15. The index opened at 3953.32 recording a high of 3983.72 and a low of 3940.29. Within the index, 39 shares ended in the red and 1 ended higher.

The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by Carrefour SA as it plummeted 5.10% to end at €23.17; following was Renault SA as it shed 3.98% to settle at €59.66, while coming in third was Societe Generale SA which slumped 3.87% to close at €30.89.

DAX Index  

German equities dropped today as well, as the benchmark index DAX 30 ended lower by 178.91 points or 2.10% to close at 8351.98. The index opened at 8410.06 recording a high of 8412.25 and a low of 8281.11. Within the index, 29 ended lower and 1 ended higher.

Lagging shares leading the index lower where driven by Commerzbank AG that plummeted 6.12% to €7.86; following was Infineon Technologies AG as it lost 3.61% to settle at €6.38 and then came Allianz SE which retreated 3.45% to €117.60.

FTSE 100 Index  

The British benchmark index ended the day also in the red to settle at 6696.79 down by 143.48 points or 2.10%. The index opened the day at 6840.27 setting the high of 6840.27 and the low of 6658.77. Among the listed shares, 96 ended lower and 5 ended higher.

Lagging shares were led by Aggreko PLC where it ended down by 5.59%, closing at £1758.00; following was Arm Holdings which shed 5.24% to close at £995.00 and Anglo American PLC which slipped 5.05% to close at £1570.00.