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European stocks fall as Apple drop weighs on Nasdaq

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index firmed a touch but underperformed its peers as the debate on the consequences of a possible British exit from the European Union returned to the fore

Stocks in London retreated Thursday as the Bank of England warned that uncertainty surrounding Britain's vote on whether to stay in the European Union was weighing on growth.

Shares in Paris and Frankfurt also fell, while a big drop in Apple shares pushed Wall Street's tech-rich Nasdaq index into the red.

London's FTSE 100 lost 1.0 percent, with commodity-linked stocks declining sharply.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that should Britain vote on June 23 to leave the European Union, the country risks suffering a "technical recession" as jobs disappear and the value of the pound slumps.

There were "increasing signs that uncertainty associated with the EU referendum has begun to weigh on activity," the BoE said.

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The BoE, as expected, left interest rates unchanged, cutting its outlook for British growth to 2.0 percent this year.

The DAX index in Frankfurt fell 1.1 percent, while the CAC in Paris lost 0.5 percent.

Among those dropping in Germany were drugmaker Bayer, down 4.9 percent and chemical company BASF, down 2.1 percent, members of the 30-equity DAX index.

Both were mentioned in news reports as considering bids of $40 billion or more to acquire US agricultural giant Monsanto. Monsanto finished up 8.4 percent in New York.

US stocks were mixed, with the Dow climbing slightly, but the tech-rich Nasdaq dropping 0.5 percent following a 2.4 percent fall in Apple.

Apple ceded its crown as the world's biggest publicly traded company to Google parent Alphabet during the session.

Apple shares have lost more than 13 percent since reporting its first ever drop in iPhone sales in earnings April 26.

Analysts are also nervous about a stream of lackluster US economic data. On Thursday, US data showed a rise in initial jobless claims to 294,000 in the week ending May 7, the highest level since late February 2015.

The data came on the heels of a disappointing April jobs report released last Friday.

"For now, the jury is still out on whether the economy is going to pick up, given the data, which has been underwhelming, to say the least," said Bill Lynch, director of investment at Hinsdale Associates.

US oil prices hit a fresh 2016 peak after the International Energy Agency predicted the crude oversupply would shrink in the second half of 2016.

- Key figures around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 17,720.50 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 2,064.11 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,737.33 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 6,104.19 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.1 percent at 9,862.12 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 4,293.27 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.7 percent at 2,935.46 (close)

Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 16,646.34 (close)

Shanghai - composite: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 2,835.86 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.7 percent at 19,915.46 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1377 from $1.1426 Wednesday

Dollar/yen: UP at 109.00 yen from 108.39 yen