European stocks closed lower on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates on hold and did not extend its asset purchase program.
Draghi disappoints
European markets
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed down around 0.3 percent, with the German DAX paring losses to finish 0.7 percent lower. Earlier in the day, it had sunk to around 1.5 percent.
The ECB kept its benchmark refinancing rate at 0 percent and also did not change its trillion-euro bond-buying plan, saying the program will run until the end of March 2017 or beyond if necessary.
Investors had expected the central bank to extend quantitative easing. In a media conference, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank did not discuss an extension of its asset purchase plan. "Our program is effective and we should focus on its implementation," he said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index finished up nearly 0.2 percent, buoyed up by news that Micro Focus will merge with Hewlett Packard Enterprise spun-off non-core software assets. Shares of Micro Focus closed up nearly 15 percent.
Apple weighs down US markets
U.S. markets also traded lower in midday trading following Draghi's comments.The fell furthest, down around 0.3 percent. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down around 0.1 and 0.2 percent respectively.
Apple shares plunged the day after the tech giant launched the iPhone 7, wireless headphones and a new watch on Wednesday in a bid to turn around the company's first drop in sales. Shares of the firm were down around 2 percent in midday trading.
The technology sector in Europe also closed lower, with European suppliers to Apple hit. Austria Microsystems and Dialog Semiconductor - both suppliers to Apple - finished in the red. Shares in ASML, meanwhile, slid down 3.7 percent after Samsung Electronics said it was selling about 6.3 million shares in the company.
Dixons Carphone finished near the top of the STOXX 600 after it reported a 4 percent rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks ended July 30. Shares in the company rose nearly 4 percent.
Pearson finished at the bottom of the index, with its shares down around 7.5 percent after its U.S. peer, John Wiley & Sons, reported a fall in earnings and revenue in its fiscal first quarter.
Elsewhere, Air France-KLM shares closed higher after it said August traffic rose 1.9 percent.