reported that the prices American consumers pay for goods and services accelerated at their fastest pace since 2008 in April.
This sparked fears that the U.S. central bank could increase interest rates sooner rather than later.
Earnings in Europe came from Burberry, BT Group and Telefonica on Thursday.
European stocks retreated on Thursday as markets around the world were spooked by the latest U.S. inflation data.
TICKER COMPANY NAME PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME
.FTSE FTSE 100 FTSE 6904.14 -100.49 -1.43 47029067
.GDAXI DAX DAX 14941.99 -208.23 -1.37 6897471
.FCHI CAC 40 Index CAC 6193.67 -85.68 -1.36 6635231
The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.1% in earl trade, with basic resources dropping 2.7% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into the red.
European markets following the negative trend seen in Asia-Pacific overnight and the U.S. on Wednesday after the latest U.S. inflation data for April showed higher-than-expected price pressures.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the prices American consumers pay for goods and services accelerated at their fastest pace since 2008 in April, with the Consumer Price Index spiking 4.2% from a year ago.
It has sparked fears that the U.S. central bank could increase interest rates sooner rather than later.
Read more: Inflation spooks stocks and raises fear the Fed is wrong that the price spike is temporary
The data prompted sharp declines in U.S. stocks with the Dow falling 681 points, or 1.99% lower, to notch its single-worst session since January. The S&P 500 lost 2.1%, its biggest one-day drop since February, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 2.6%.
tolerate inflation that rises above its 2% target. It has said it will look at a range of inflation as acceptable.
The concern is that inflation could become too hot, however, and the Fed would be forced to raise interest rates and keep raising them — a negative for stocks.
U.S. stock futures were flat in early premarket trade on Thursday,
Earnings in Europe come from Burberry, BT Group and Telefonica; there are no major data releases.
