European stocks drop over 1.5% as US bonds rise and Wall Street falls

European stocks fell more than 1.5% on Thursday, and hit a 1-week low due to profit-taking from record highs and investors' risk aversion, as the 10-year US Treasury bond yield rallied following the Fed meeting minutes, and a sell-off in Wall Street.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.5% as of 09:45 GMT, after it closed higher by 0.1% and hit new record high at 495.46 points.

The tech sector is the biggest loser in Europe, with a drop of more than 2.5%, after the heavy losses in Wall Street.

The 10-year US Treasury bond yield rose more than 2% today, rising for the fifth straight day, and hit a 9-month high at 1.744%, which weighs down on risk appetite in global stock markets.

This came as investors almost fully expect a US rate hike next March to tame the rising inflation risks in the US, following strong hints from last Fed's meeting minutes

S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% today ahead of Wall Street's opening, after the index closed lower by 1.9% yesterday.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1.6%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.7%, Germany's DAX index fell 1.2%, and the UK's FTSE 100 fell more than 0.75%.