European stock markets experienced a downturn on Thursday as global economic uncertainty overshadowed monetary policy announcements from the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, and the Swedish Riksbank.

Following a subdued start, the Stoxx 600 regional index decreased by 0.59% during trading.

This decline comes after the Stoxx 600 had closed higher in the previous four sessions, recovering from a 1.22% loss the prior week.

The German DAX index ended its winning streak on Wednesday and fell an additional 1.27% by Thursday morning.

Earlier in the month, German industrial, manufacturing, and defense stocks had seen significant gains due to prospects for reform in these sectors.

Thyssenkrupp, the German engineering and defense group, relinquished early gains and was trading down 5.5% by late morning.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, a decision that may have influenced market movements.

The real estate sector recorded the largest gains, rising by 0.7% on Thursday as yields on eurozone government bonds decreased.

The oil and gas sector followed closely, with a 0.6% increase.

Conversely, shares of Sodexo plummeted by 12.7% after the French food services group reduced its 2025 forecasts, attributing the revision to slower-than-expected growth in production and sales in North America.

This decline affected the travel and leisure sector, which fell by 0.5%, marking the worst performance in early trading.

Additionally, shares of Lanxess dropped by 5.3% after the chemical company indicated that weak growth and an increased likelihood of political upheaval would adversely impact its results for 2025.