In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 ended lower, after having hit its lowest level in almost five months earlier in the session. Basic resources were among the biggest fallers weighed down by trade fears. Tech was also one of the worst-performing sectors, due to political scrutiny of the industry stateside. Engineering consultant Altran was the top sector loser, as well as the worst performer in the continent, after reporting a first-half free cash flow loss of 225 million euros ($262 million), much larger than the 14 million euro loss it reportedly last year. Shares were down 9.75 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar edged down on Thursday following a bounce in European currencies, but concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump imposing further tariffs on Chinese imports provided some support to the greenback. The British pound, which rose on optimism about the chances of a Brexit deal following a Bloomberg report on Wednesday, added to gains despite Germany appearing to shoot down the report. Sterling was up 0.32 percent against the dollar. Elsewhere, the Swedish crown slipped about 0.5 percent versus the greenback after the Swedish central bank kept rates unchanged and closed the door to a rate hike in October.

In Commodities Markets gold clawed higher on Thursday, propelled by a weaker dollar, short-covering and physical buying in Asia. Worries of new U.S. trade tariffs on China, however, cast a cloud over the market. Spot gold was up 0.8 percent at $1,206.40 an ounce, after rising 0.5 percent in the previous session. U.S. gold futures climbed 0.9 percent to $1,211.80 an ounce. Spot silver gained 0.7 percent to $14.26. The metal hit an over 2-1/2-year low at $13.97 early this week. Platinum climbed 1.3 percent to $793.50, while palladium rose 0.6 percent to $978.60.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on Thursday, as internet stocks faltered for a second day on concerns about increased regulation, while Micron led a decline in chip stocks. Facebook fell 2.1 percent, Twitter declined 2.1 percent, Alphabet slipped 2 percent and Snap was down 2.1 percent. Micron Technology fell 7.6 percent after brokerage Baird raised concerns over prices of DRAM chips and oversupply of NAND chips. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index fell 1.9 percent. The S&P 500 was down 0.24 percent, at 2,881.62 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.61 percent, at 7,946.66.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on the day on Thursday ahead of Friday’s highly anticipated jobs report for August. U.S. private employers added 163,000 jobs during August, according to the ADP National Employment Report on Thursday. Benchmark 10-year notes rose 2/32 in price to yield 2.897 percent, down from 2.902 percent on Wednesday.