Europe's major stock markets declined on Thursday, with France's CAC-40 falling 0.8%, Britain's FTSE 100 losing 0.9%, and Germany's DAX index dropping 1%.
In afternoon trading in Europe , France 's CAC-40 fell 1.6 percent , Britain 's FTSE 100 dropped 1.2 percent and Germany 's DAX index lost 1.9 percent .