Markets were mostly down on Thursday after a number of negative economic reports. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.7 percent to 1,392.78 while the STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.2 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield declined two basis points to 2.28 percent.
The day's negative dataflow started in China, where the preliminary HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to 48.1 in March from 49.6 in February.
It continued in the euro area, where industrial new orders fell 2.3 percent in January.
The weakness in the eurozone economy has continued since, with Markit's composite index for the region falling to 48.7 in March from 49.3 in February. The manufacturing PMI fell to 47.7 in March from 49.0 in February and the services PMI fell to 48.7 from 48.8.
The euro area did report though that its consumer confidence indicator rose to minus 19 in March from minus 20.3 in February.
Elsewhere in Europe, UK data also showed weakness, with retail sales falling 0.8 percent in February, the biggest fall in nine months.
The US, however, continued to provide relatively positive data. The Conference Board's index of US leading indicators rose 0.7 percent in February, the most in 11 months. Initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 348,000 last week, the lowest level in four years. US home prices fell 0.8 percent in January from a year earlier, the smallest decline in more than two years, and were unchanged from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
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