World stock markets mostly traded in a narrow range Thursday with little new data on the way to spur investors. Japanese stocks were the exception, enjoying a strong rebound amid mounting hopes that further stimulus measures will be announced soon. The European markets took their cue from Wall Street, where stocks plunged after US officials said the number of Americans filing new weekly claims for jobless benefits jumped to 500,000, the highest level in nine months. Wall Street stocks slumped, ending a two-day rally as disappointing unemployment and industrial data rekindled worries about the recovery of the US economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 144.33 points (1.39 percent) to end at 10,271.21, recovering from almost 200 points down. The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index declined 36.75 points (1.66 percent) to 2,178.95 while the broader S&P 500 index shed 18.53 points (1.69 percent) at 1,075.63. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 8.91 points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,293.96 while Germany's DAX fell 14.03 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,172.28. The CAC-40 in France was 6.71 points, or 0.2 percent, lower at 3,641.22. Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam fell 1.62 percent, Brussels dropped 1.53 percent, Madrid fell 1.47 percent, Milan fell 2.05 percent and Swiss stocks were down 1.28 percent. In Asia, where stock markets had closed before the US data was released, hopes that the Japanese central bank will announce measures to stem the yen's rise lifted the dollar while also giving a boost to markets. Traders bought up the dollar after a report that the Bank of Japan will consider steps to prevent any further strengthening of the nation's currency, which had hit a 15-year high against the US unit last week. Sentiment was also stoked after Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda reiterated at a regular press briefing that he would closely watch the foreign exchange market. The Tokyo market rallied 1.32 percent on Thursday, with exporters, who suffer from a strong yen, the beneficiaries. Confidence that upcoming earnings data will be strong helped Hong Kong to finish 0.24 percent higher, while Shanghai rose 0.81 percent. Oil prices slumped Thursday after new signs of listless economic growth reinforced concerns about whether Americans would spend more on fuel anytime soon. Benchmark oil for October delivery fell 99 cents to settle at $74.43 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices have retreated about 7.6 percent in the past two weeks amid slowing economic growth. As Americans conserve their cash, supplies of oil and petroleum products have reached levels not seen in at least two decades. In London, Brent crude fell $1.17 to settle at $75.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In other Nymex trading in September contracts, natural gas for September delivery fell 6.8 cents to settle at $4.171 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil lost 2.42 cents to settle at $2.0007 a gallon and gasoline declined by 3.25 cents to settle at $1.9287 a gallon Tougher US outlook seen The US economy faces difficult times ahead with chronic unemployment and slow manufacturing hurting the pace of recovery, the head of Congress' budget agency said on Thursday. The warning from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office came on top of more bad US economic data that heightened concerns about a return to recession, roiling markets. The gloomy outlook could also spell trouble for Democrats facing November congressional elections. The CBO forecast the US budget deficit will hit $1.342 trillion this year, down slightly from its March projection of $1.368 trillion.
