Japanese stocks fell for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday.
Swiss stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday after a report showed new home sales in the U.S. were upwardly revised to 353,000 units in February.
British public sector borrowing rose by more than expected in March, said the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday.
U.S. consumer confidence declined in April as consumers became slightly less optimistic on the outlook of the country's economy, the Conference Board Inc. said on Tuesday. An index of sentiment decreased to 69.2 from 70.2 points in March.
Industrial new orders in the euro zone declined by more than forecast in February, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday. Orders decreased by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent, after declining 2.9 per cent in January.
Japanese stocks fell for a third straight day on Monday.
Swiss stocks ended Monday's session lower after manufacturing in the euro zone contracted more than forecast.
U.K. stocks declined sharply on Monday after manufacturing in the single currency bloc contracted by more than expected in April.
U.S. stocks declined after data showed that manufacturing contracted in the euro zone.
The euro zone's manufacturing contracted in April, a sign the economy is far from out of the woods. The purchasing managers index declined to 47.9 from 49.2 in March, Markit data showed on Monday. Reading below 50.0 indicates industry contraction.
Japanese stocks fell on Friday after U.S. economic data showed the recovery in the world's largest economy is losing momentum.
Swiss stocks edged higher on Friday after German business confidence rose and U.S. companies reported better than expected earnings.
U.K. month on month retail sales rose more than economists forecast in March, said the Office for National Statistics on Friday. Total retail sales rose 1.8 per cent from February, when they declined 0.8 per cent.
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday while German investor confidence unexpectedly improved and blue chip companies from General Electrics to Microsoft reported better than expected earnings.
German business confidence unexpectedly improved in April, a sign the euro zone's largest economy is weathering Europe's debt crisis. Ifo business climate index, which is based on a survey of 7,000 businesses, rose to 109.9 points from 109.8 points in March.
U.K. claims for unemployment benefits rose less than expected and unemployment declined, signs that the economy is stabilizing. Claims increased by 3,600 in March to 1.61 million, said the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
Japanese exports surged 5.9 per cent in March, compared to the same period last year, said the Ministry of Finance on Thursday. The trade deficit for March was 82.6 billion yen, less than economists forecast of 223.2 billion yen.
Swiss stocks edged higher after Spain scraped through a key bond auction on Thursday.
U.K. stocks were little changed on Thursday.
The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined by 2,000 to 386,000 in the week ended April 14 from the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday.
Spain sold 2.54 billion euros of debt dated 2014 and 2022 on Thursday, above the target range of 1.5 to 2.5 billion euros for the auction.
The seasonally adjusted current account of the euro zone swung a deficit of EUR1.3 billion in February from a surplus of EUR3.7 billion in January, said the European Central Bank on Wednesday.
Japanese stocks surged on Wednesday, after the International Monetary Fund raised its global economic forecast and Spain sold more debt than its target.
Swiss stocks edged lower on Wednesday, led by a decline in banking shares. UBS lost 2.6 per cent and Credit Suisse fell 1.6 per cent.