AB: Australia shares up 0.7 pct on China stimulus hope
Oil prices slumped to near $44 a barrel Thursday, after large gains the previous day, as investors seemed disappointed with the lack of new stimulus measures by China and worried the global economic downturn will keep crude demand weak.
In European afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 2.3 percent at 3,563.59, Germany's DAX dived 2.7 percent to 3,787.63, and France's CAC 40 tumbled 2.2 percent to 2,617.69.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the government's stimulus plan would help the world's third-largest economy grow by 8 percent this year, but he stopped short of delivering the promise of new stimulus measures.
The hope that China would unveil more government spending was a major trigger for the stock markets' bounce Wednesday.
