European stocks sharply lower on world bank outlook; Dax plunges 1.87%

Investing.com - European stocks were sharply lower on Thursday, after the world bank cut its global growth outlook and as uncertainty over whether central banks will roll back stimulus continued to rattle global markets.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 plummeted 1.37%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.16%, while Germany’s DAX 30 plunged 1.87%.

The World Bank said in a report that the global economy will expand 2.2% this year, less than a January forecast for 2.4% growth and slower than last year’s 2.3%. It also lowered its projection for developing economies and said the euro zone's gross domestic product will fall 0.6%.

In addition, European stocks tracked their Japanese counterparts lower as the prospect of an end to central bank stimulus fuelled a broad based sell-off in risk assets.

Markets were also jittery as speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program this year continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale plummeted 2.68% and 2.79%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank tumbled 1.36%.

Peripheral lenders added to losses, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander retreatimg 1.78% and 1.70% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit declined 0.85% and 1.40%.

Elsewhere, France Telecom dropped 0.99% after French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said its board should meet "as soon as possible" to discuss the consequences of CEO Stephane Richard being charged in an investigation.

In London, FTSE 100 tumbled 1.03%, weighed by losses in the financial sector.

Shares in Lloyds Banking declined 1.01% and HSBC Holdings plummeted 1.35%, while Barclays plunged 1.91% and the Royal Bank of Scotland dove 6.25%.

The Royal Bank of Scotland earlier announced that Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester will resign this year, adding that it will cut more jobs at its investment bank, without specifying how many.

Mining companies were also on the downside, as Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton retreated 0.92% and 1.21%, while Anglo American lost 1.27%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.41% decline, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.46% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.36% loss.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on retail sales and the weekly government report on initial jobless claims.