U.S. Markets
U.S. stocks fell as a disappointing reading on services-sector activity tempered sentiment on the eve of the government's employment report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.98 points, or 0.5%, to 13206.59. The Standard Poor's 500-stock index slid 10.74 points, or 0.8%, to 1391.57. Prudential fell 10%, leading the index lower, after reporting operating earnings that missed analysts' forecasts. The percent drop was the insurer's biggest since August. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 35.55 points, or 1.2%, to 3024.30. Economists expect the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report Friday to show that 168,000 jobs were added last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 8.2%. The report follows a worse-than-expected private-sector jobs report Wednesday. Thursday, the Labor Department reported the number of U.S. workers filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in a month, a hopeful sign for a labor market that has shown signs of weakening. Initial jobless claims fell 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000. Economists expected 378,000, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll. The prior week's reading was revised higher. Expansion in the U.S. non-manufacturing sector slowed more than expected in April, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's non manufacturing purchasing index fell to 53.5 last month from 56 in March. In corporate news, Target fell 2.5% and Gap dropped 1.6%after both reported weaker-than-expected April same-store sales. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters tumbled 48% after reducing its current-year financial targets because of difficulty predicting demand for its Keurig single-serve coffee brewers and packs. Kensey Nash shot up 32% after the medical-device maker said it agreed to be acquired by Dutch life-sciences company Royal DSM for about $337 million in cash.

European Markets
European stock markets ended slightly higher Thursday, trimming gains after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered no hints of further monetary easing for the troubled euro zone and said the growth that politicians are so keen to promote is in their own hands. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed 0.1% higher at 257.53, after trading up 1% earlier in the session. A weaker-than-expected reading of the U.S. Institute for Supply Management's services sector index also hit stocks in both Europe and the U.S. Germany's DAX index lost 0.2% to 6694.44, while France's CAC-40 index finished 0.1% lower at 3223.36. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index ended up 0.2% at 5766.55. Stock markets across the region were higher after Spain sold EUR2.52 billion worth of bonds at an auction, slightly above the high end of the $1.5 billion-$2.5 billion targeted range, and began to wobble after Draghi said that the ECB's program of buying government bonds cannot replace either fiscal consolidation or reforms as the way back to stability. Draghi said policy makers felt monetary policy remained accommodative given historically low nominal interest rates and negative real interest rates interest rates minus inflation across much of the euro zone. Banks fell across the region. UniCredit lost 4.7%, Banco Popolare shed 4.6%, while Intesa Sanpaolo fell 3.1%. In France, BNP Paribas lost 3.2% and Credit Agricole shed 3%. Societe Generale gave up 4.2% despite a better-than-expected earnings report. In Germany, Commerzbank slid 3.6%, while Deutsche Bank shed 2.6%. Spain's IBEX 35 index added 0.3% to 6851.90, while yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds were 0.06 percentage point lower at 5.80% in the secondary market, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb. In the U.K., Smith & Nephew posted the biggest gain in the FTSE 100, rallying 4% after first-quarter profit rose 3% and the company stuck to its full-year forecast. Miners weighed as metals prices declined. Antofagasta fell up 4.4%, Rio Tinto shed 2.2% and Kazakhmys fell 2.9%. Elsewhere, Belgian retailer Delhaize Group sank 10%. It swung to a loss in the first quarter, related to store closures and revamps in the U.S., where it generates most of its sales.

Asian Markets
Asian shares ended mostly lower Thursday after disappointing data from Europe and the U.S. revived concerns about the global economic outlook, hurting cyclical stocks. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed fractionally higher. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2%. Japanese markets were slated to remain closed the rest of the week for holidays. Cyclical stocks, led by exporters, underperformed as investors fretted about the shaky global economy. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics fell 0.6%, and steelmaker Posco dropped 0.5%, while Nanya Technology tumbled 6.9% in Taipei. Hong Kong stocks had rallied on Wednesday on upbeat Chinese manufacturing data, but they pared back those gains Thursday, falling sharply after a major share placement by Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings. Both Bank of China and China Construction Bank Corp. fell 3.1% after Temasek sold close to $2.5 billion of stock in the two lenders at a discount. Losses spread through Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese bank shares. Temasek also reportedly holds shares in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, which traded down 1.3%, while Agricultural Bank of China lost 2.5%. Also in Hong Kong, Wynn Macau slipped 1.2%, failing to get a boost after Macau approved its plan to build a new resort on the former Portuguese colony's Cotai Strip.

Commodities
Base metals closed lower on the London Metal Exchange Thursday, in line with generally softer financial markets, after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and investors reduced their exposure to risk ahead of Friday's much-anticipated U.S. payroll report. At the close, LME three-month copper was 0.9% lower at $8,229 a metric ton, having earlier fallen to a one-week low at $8,200/ton. U.S. oil futures tumbled to their lowest level in two weeks Thursday, while the main European benchmark slid to its weakest finish since February, weighed down by a slew of disappointing economic data. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $2.68, or 2.6%, lower at $102.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the benchmark's weakest finish since April 19. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled $2.12, or 1.8%, lower at $116.08 a barrel, its lowest finish since Feb. 6. Gold futures ended lower after the European Central Bank indicated imminent stimulus was unlikely and amid caution ahead of upcoming U.S. employment data. The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, fell $19.20, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,634.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.