US Stocks

The energy sector led U.S. stocks lower Thursday as crude-oil prices plunged and jobs data disappointed, hurting expectations for the government's upcoming employment report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 139.41 points, or 1.1%, to 12584.17. The measure's energy components weighed, with Exxon Mobil down $2.19, or 2.6%, to $82.62, and Chevron down 2.06, or 2%, to 102.62, as crude oil plunged to below $99 a barrel.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

The Nasdaq Composite declined 13.51, or 0.48%, to 2814.72.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 12.22, or 0.91%, to 1335.10, marking the measure's fourth consecutive drop. It represents the first time the S&P 500 has been down for the first four days of a month since October 2008. The tumble in crude oil came as investors rushed to the safety of the dollar after data showed new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly surged last week to the highest level since August. The report lowered expectations for the government's report on April employment due Friday.

The euro's slump followed comments from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet that were interpreted as signaling that interest rates wouldn't rise again next month. German manufacturing orders also weighed, with an unexpected 4% drop. David Bellantonio, head of U.S. trading at Instinet, said technical factors were also at play as the S&P 500 broke through an area that had been previously been a cushion.

European Stocks

European stocks ended lower Thursday as investors took in disappointing earnings from banks including Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Societe Generale SA, and as the European Central Bank kept its key interest rate on hold. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost ground for the third consecutive session, closing 0.3% lower at 277.79.

Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left rates on hold Thursday. In a press conference, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet gave no clear signal about when future hikes might occur, even as he noted upward inflationary pressures due to commodity prices. Shares of Lloyds Banking Group slumped 8%.

The U.K. bank slipped back to a loss of 2.44 billion pounds in the first quarter. Also in the U.K., Schroders PLC saw its shares drop 9.2%. The asset manager reported an 11% increase in first-quarter pretax profit that missed analysts' expectations and warned that intermediary flows have slowed. The financial sector was also in focus elsewhere in Europe. In France, shares of Societe Generale fell 5%. The bank reported an unexpected 14% drop in first-quarter net profit. In Spain, shares of BBVA dropped 1.5%. It reported a 7.5% fall in first-quarter net profit. France's CAC 40 index closed down 1% at 4,004.87, led by the drop for SocGen. In Germany, the DAX 30 finished nearly unchanged at 7,376.96 as gains for Adidas AG offset losses in the construction and financial sectors.

Shares of the German sportswear firm surged 7.2% after it raised its revenue outlook for the year. In the U.K., the FTSE 100 index lost 1.1% to 5,919.98, led by Lloyds and Schroders.

Asian Stocks

Asian shares ended mixed Thursday amid caution ahead of the European Central Bank's interest-rate meeting later in the day, with many commodity plays around the region declining. The region was also weighed by dropping commodity prices and weak U.S. economic data, which weighed on Wall Street Wednesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.2% to 23,261.61, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 2872.40, and Taiwan's Taiex advanced 0.8% to 9018.61. Markets in Japan, South Korea and Thailand were shut for public holidays.

[Sign up here to get this report delivered to your inbox daily]

Falling commodity prices kept investors on edge, with a continued selloff in silver prices reflecting the heightened risk aversion. In Hong Kong, Cnooc skidded 2% and Jiangxi Copper Co. gave up 1.8%, while PetroChina fell 2.6% in Hong Kong and 0.5% in Shanghai. Hong Kong stocks fell for the seventh session in a row, weighed by commodity plays and drops for many property developers. Property developers fell on data showing the number of transactions fell 23% in April from the previous month, and 27% from the year-earlier period. Cheung Kong Holdings fell 0.6% and Hang Lung Properties dropped 1.6%.

Base Metals

LME copper closed at its lowest level in five months on the London Metal Exchange Thursday, losing 3.3% in a session marked by a commodities-wide rout on the back of bearish economic signals. And while this could attract some physical buying from recently absent Chinese players put off by high copper prices which peaked at a record $10,190 a metric ton in mid-February copper's general direction looks set to continue into negative territory as technical and momentum-selling builds, said market players. Oil futures ended below $100 a barrel for the first time since March amid a broad commodity selloff, weighed by worries about falling U.S. demand.

Light, sweet crude for June settled down $9.44, or 8.6%, at $99.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest settlement since March 16 and the biggest single day percentage decline for the contract since April 20, 2009. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange shed $10.39, or 8.6%, to $110.80 a barrel, also the lowest settlement since March 16.

Oil prices tumbled amid a selloff in the commodities market. A disappointing reading on U.S. employment levels sparked the slide, amid worries about weaker fuel demand. The decline accelerated as the dollar soared following the European Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. A sharp correction in silver futures knocked gold prices below $1,500 as a stronger dollar accelerated declines sparked by an increase in silver trading costs. Gold for May delivery, the front-month contract, settled down $34.00, or 2.2%, at $1,480.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most actively traded gold contract, for June delivery, settled down $33.90, or $2.2%, at $1,481.40 per troy ounce. Both contracts ended at three-week lows.

More from IBT Markets:
Newsletter: To receive Global Markets update, sign up here
Forex: Get Free Forex Education Materials and Forex News & Tips from our Forex Section.