European Stocks Fall On U.S. Fed Comments

(RTTNews) - European stocks tumbled Thursday after downbeat economic data and hawkish remarks from a top Federal Reserve official.

U.S. Inflation looks likely to rise back to 2 percent later this year, allowing the Fed to hike interest rates by the end of the first quarter 2015, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview on the Fox Business Network.

A report released by the Commerce Department showed Wednesday that economic activity in the U.S. decreased by much more than previously estimated in the first quarter.

Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks dropped 0.63 percent.

Germany's DAX slipped 0.72 percent, the CAC of France fell 0.50 percent, and the FTSE of the UK was virtually unchanged.

In London, London Stock Exchange Group jumped 6 percent after the company announced the $2.7 billion offer for US asset manager Frank Russell Co.

Standard Chartered lost 4.7 percent. The lender expects lower profit for its first half and fiscal 2014.

Barclays dropped 6.7 percent. The lender has been sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for its alleged involvement in fraudulent activity related to a trading venue known as "dark pool."

Credit Suisse lost 3.7 percent. U.S. authorities assigned a noted Wall Street watchdog to keep an eye on the company, according to Bloomberg.

Dialog Semiconductor gained 1.4 percent. The company is in preliminary talks with AMS AG about a possible merger of equals. AMS lost 1.4 percent in Zurich.