At 12:45 GMT, the European Central Bank concluded its January 23 meeting, and decided on keeping the interest rate at 0.00% unchanged from the previous meeting, which was widely expected in the market.

European stocks fell on Thursday, to deepen losses for the fourth straight day, on profit-taking from all-time highs, and investors' risk-aversion, as concerns mounted about the spread of the Chinese coronavirus and the chances for it to become a global pandemic.

Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.1% as of 10:55 GMT, after it closed lower by 0.1% yesterday, to post its third daily loss, on profit-taking from all-time highs hit of 429.94 points.

The index opened today's session lower, to head for the fourth straight daily loss, as most of the major European exchanges and sectors fell today.

The mining sector saw the largest losses in Europe today, dropping by more than 1.6%, on concerns about the Chinese economy (the world's largest consumer of metals.)

Investor fears mounted about the spread of the Chinese coronavirus and the chances for it to become a global pandemic, especially after it led to 17 fatalities, and nearly 600 people infected in China.

The World Health Organization has not declared the disease a global health emergency so far, and the Chinese authorities locked down Wuhan city, which has a population of 11 million people, as it is believed that the virus started in that city.

The outbreak comes ahead of the Lunar New Year Holidays in China, which starts next Saturday, as hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens are expected to travel indoors and outdoors during the holiday.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% today, after it closed flat yesterday at Wall Street, after hitting a record high of 3,337.77 points.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.1%, Germany's DAX lost 0.3%, and In London, the FTSE 100 index fell by 0.2%, while France's CAC 40 rose by 0.2%. 

Gold prices fell in European trade on Thursday, to head for the second daily loss in 3 days, as the US dollar rose against a basket of currencies, but gold's losses are ebbed due to increased safe-haven demand amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus in China to become a global pandemic.

Gold prices fell by 0.4% to $1,552.99 an ounce, after opening at $1,558.96, and hit a day high of $1,563.65.

Gold closed flat yesterday, after it lost 0.2% in the previous day, on profit taking from a two-week high of $1,568.58.

The dollar index rose by 0.1% today, moving toward its first daily gain in 4 days, which weigh down on gold and other dollar-denominated metals.

The new influenza-like coronavirus in China led to 17 fatalities, and nearly 600 people infected, prompting the Chinese authorities to lockdown Wuhan city, which has a population of 11 million people, as it is believed that the virus started in that city .

This mounted the concerns about a spread of the Chinese virus into a global pandemic, leading to slowdown in global travel and trade movements, and spooking investors in high-yield assets.

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust Fund remained unchanged yesterday, at a total of 898.82 metric tonnes, the highest since November 8.

Asian stock indices opened the fourth session of the week mixed but mostly lower, with China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea declining while New Zealand eked out gains, amid concerns about the spread of the Coronavirus, which already killed 17 people at least and infected hundreds. 

Chinese stocks marked over 1% losses while readying for the new lunar year holiday.

Chinese authorities suspended air and rail travels from Wuhan, the place where the virus originated, with 17 people dying so far and over 540 infected. 

Earlier Japanese data showed the trade deficit widened to 152.5 billion yen from 85.2 billion in November, while analysts expected a 152.6 billion deficit. 

Japanese industrial activity rose 0.9% in November, compared to a 4.8% tumble in October. 

From Australia, the unemployment rate fell to 5.1% from 5.2% in November, while employment change rose 28.9 thousand, up from 38.5 in November. 

Japan's TOPEX fell 0.48% to 1,735.70, while Nikkei 225 shed 0.64% to 23,877.89. 

China's CSI 300 tumbled 1.58%, while Shanghai declined 1.31% to 3,020.64. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.12% to 28,024.81, while South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.82%. 

New Zealand's NZX 50 rose 0.04%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.76%.