Swiss stocks lost ground on Wednesday amid worries that slowing global economy is weighting on company earnings.
U.K. stocks closed mixed on Wednesday.
U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May, helped by lower demand for consumer goods and falling oil prices. The gap narrowed 3.68 per cent to 48.7 billion dollars, said the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced new austerity measures on Wednesday to cut budget deficit by 65 billion euros by 2014. Measures include a three point increase in Valued Added Tax, cuts in jobless benefits and public wages.
Japanese stocks fell for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday after China's imports rose less than economists forecast.
Swiss stocks closed in green on Tuesday after reports showed manufacturing in the U.K. and Italy rose and European officials agreed on measures to support Spanish banks.
U.K. manufacturing rose more than expected in May, said the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday. Output increased 1.2 per cent from April while declined 1.7 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.
U.S. stocks extended dip on Tuesday.
The European Central Bank is ready to do more to help the struggling economy, said ECB President Mario Draghi in a testimony to the European Parliament on Monday.
"… machinery order drop is very large, and it may be a signal that Japanese companies are becoming cautious about investment"- Hiroaki Muto, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management|Japan's current account surplus for May narrowed to the lowest level in more than 20 years and month-on-month core machinery orders dropped 14.8 per cent, reports showed on Monday. Current
Swiss stocks extended losses on Monday.
U.K. house prices increased for a second month to an average of 162,417 pounds in June. Values increased 1 per cent from the previous month and were down 0.2 per cent compared to the same period the prior year, said the Lloyds Banking Group Plc Halifax mortgage-lending unit the previous week.
U.S. stocks retreated on Monday after Spanish bond yields rose above 7 per cent.
European stocks closed lower on Monday after yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds broke above seven per cent and a report showed Japan's core machinery orders tumbled.
Japanese stocks extended losses on Friday as rate cuts in Europe and China failed to restore investors' confidence.
Swiss stocks closed lower on Friday.
U.K. year-over-year producer prices rose 2.3 per cent in June, compared to the same period the previous year, the lowest rate since October 2009, said the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
The number of Americans who have found a job in June rose to 80,000 from 77,000 in May, said the Labor Department on Friday, significantly below a projected gain of 97,000. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 per cent.
German industrial production rose by more than expected in May, a sign that Europe's largest economy continues to outpace peers. Production increased 1.6 per cent in May, after declining 2.1 per cent the previous month, said the Economy Ministry on Friday.
The Bank of England extended its asset purchasing program by 50 billion pounds to 375 billion pounds on Thursday, citing deterioration of economic conditions. The bank also kept the key interest rate unchanged at 0.5 per cent.
Japanese stocks closed in red on Thursday ahead of ECB policy meeting.
Swiss stocks were little changed on Thursday.
The number of Americans claiming for unemployment benefits declined to 374,000 in the week ended June 30 from 386,000 the week before, said the Department of Labor on Thursday.
European central bank cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 0.75 per cent on Thursday to ease borrowing costs for struggling euro zone banks. It also lowered deposit rates to zero from 0.25 per cent.