Markets fall, German exports plunge

The rally in US stocks on Wednesday proved short-lived. The S&P 500 fell 2.1 percent on Thursday while the Russell 2000 tumbled 2.7 percent.

European stocks fell for the third consecutive day on Thursday, with the STOXX Europe 600 declining 0.4 percent.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil also fell for a third day, declining 1.8 percent to the lowest since April 2013.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England left monetary policy unchanged at its meeting on Thursday.

The European Central Bank, though, is still looking at expanding monetary stimulus. ECB President Mario Draghi said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Thursday that the ECB “is unanimous in its commitment to take additional unconventional measures to address the risks of a too-prolonged period of low inflation”.

And the ECB may need to do just that soon. A report on Thursday showed that German exports plunged 5.8 percent in August, the biggest decline since January 2009, while imports fell 1.3 percent.

This report followed data earlier this week showing that German industrial production fell 4.0 percent in August while factory orders fell 5.7 percent.