European Stocks Sink on Thursday

European stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with the Stoxx 50 dropping around 2% to a more than four-month low and the broader Stoxx 600 losing 1% to a one-week low. Italy’s market declined over 2.5%, Spain fell around 2%, while Germany and France lost more than 1% and the UK slipped less than 0.5%. Basic resources plunged over 3.5% as metals prices tumbled, including silver down nearly 5%, copper over 2.5% and gold more than 2%. Banks fell over 3%, while industrial goods and services lost around 2.5% and technology declined 2%. Energy and travel stocks also weakened. In contrast, health care and food, beverage & tobacco each gained around 2%. Among individual stocks, Hermès dropped 5% after reporting flat sales, while Thales and Barclays declined despite raising its outlook and reporting higher profits, respectively. SAP rose over 3.5% after upgrading its full-year outlook, while Nestlé gained 2.3% on strong quarterly sales. Roche was little changed despite better-than-expected sales.