U.S. stocks continued a two-day slide Thursday on weak economic data and concern about the Federal Reserve's resolve to keep juicing the market.
European stocks were sharply lower a day after U.S. stocks sustained some of their steepest declines this year. A monthly survey of European executives showed that business activity in the European Union slowed in February, a strong signal that a downturn that began last year will continue into 2013.
France's CAC 40 index fell 2.3 percent. Germany's DAX fell 1.9 percent, and in London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.6 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was on track for its first weekly decline since December.
Signaling that the U.S. labor market remains in slow recovery mode, the government said more people applied for unemployment benefits last week. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to the highest in six weeks.
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