European Stocks Retreat Amid Risk Aversion

(RTTNews) - The major European markets are trading lower by early afternoon trading on Thursday, although they have come off their early lows. Risk off mood prevails as traders await Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.

After opening lower, European stocks saw further downside in reaction to a weak German business sentiment reading. However, with commodities recovering, the averages in the region have trimmed their losses.

The French CAC 40 Index is now down 27.80 points or 0.63 percent at 4,408, the German DAX Index is retreating 85.16 points or 0.80 percent to 10,539 and the U.K. Market is slipping by 27.29 points or 0.40 percent to 6,809.

The Euro STOXX 50, which is an index consisting of blue chip stocks across the eurozone is down 0.63 percent.

U.S. stocks retreated on Wednesday, as oil fell steeply and amid nervousness concerning the Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech scheduled for Friday. And early indications suggest that U.S. stocks are poised for a modestly lower opening.

Meanwhile, the major Asian markets ended Thursday's session mixed, with the uninspiring lead from Wall Street overnight, muted performance by commodities and Yellen's address all playing out in the minds of traders.

On the economic front, the results of a survey by the IfO showed that sentiment among German businesses slipped unexpectedly in August. The business sentiment index fell to 106.2 in August from 108.3 in July, while economists expected an increase in the index to 108.5. The current conditions and expectations indexes also fell.

The total value of new orders received by the German construction industry decreased in June, data released by the German Federal Statistical Office showed.

The seasonally, working-day and price-adjusted orders in construction dropped 1.8 percent month-over-month in June. On a yearly basis, orders surged a working-day and price-adjusted 18.3 percent in June.

The results of a survey by statistical office INSEE showed that French manufacturing confidence weakened unexpectedly in August.  The manufacturing sentiment index dropped to 101 in August from 103 in July. Economists had forecast the indicator to remain unchanged at 103.

Healthcare and auto stocks are leading the declines in Frankfurt. Merck KgaA, Fresenius, Fresenius Medical Care, BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler and Continental are all down steeply. In Paris, auto, technology and resource stocks are retreating. The U.K. Market is also seeing a sell-off in the resource space.