World Markets End Lower Ahead of Key US Jobs Data

A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones...

A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the closing number for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008. Wall Street withstood another stream of bad economic readings Wednesday, closing sharply higher as investors shuttled between pessimism about the recession and hopes that the nation might start seeing relief soon. The major indexes saw big swings throughout the day, but all closed up more than 2 percent, giving the market its second straight advance. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

(AP)

World stocks closed modestly lower Thursday, despite hefty interest rate cuts across Europe, as Wall Street retreated in the face of fresh grim corporate and economic news and Friday's November jobs report.

Argentina was one of the few markets ending on the upside after the government there announced it will use billions of dollars of newly nationalized pension fund assets to spur the local economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 215.45 points, or 2.51 percent, to 8,376.24 as investors turned cautious late in the session. Trading volatile amid disappointing retail sales data, big job cuts at AT&T Inc. and DuPont Co., and unease ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 6.35 points, or 0.2 percent, at 4,163.61, while Germany's DAX finished 3.01 points lower at 4,564.23. The CAC-40 in France ended 5.49 points, or 0.2 percent, lower at 3,161.16.

Europe's indexes oscillated throughout the day. Earlier, the three leading European indexes were sharply higher as the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and Sweden's Riksbank all cut interest rates aggressively, but Wall Street's losses saw them pare those gains.

The markets' focus has shifted to the U.S. jobs report. The consensus among economists is that employers reduced jobs by 320,000 during the month of November, but some analysts are now forecasting that it could be as high as 400,000.

Worries about the global economy continued to haunt stock markets, even though central banks in Europe cut their interest rates aggressively.

While the Bank of England slashed its benchmark rate by a full percentage point to a 57-year low of 2.00 percent, the European Central Bank cut its key rate by 0.75 percentage points to 2.50 percent. Sweden's Riksbank outdid them both with a staggering 1.75 percent reduction, which took its main interest rate to 2.00 percent.

"Any beneficial effect from lower borrowing costs is offset by the feeling that the economic situation is not going to turn around any time soon," said Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group.