By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets gave up earlier gains in afternoon action on Thursday, after data from the U.S. failed to meet market expectations. The Philadelphia Fed Index for June dropped to the lowest level since August 2011, slipping below analysts' estimates. The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.16% was 0.2% lower at 249.23, after trading as high as 250.39 before the data release. U.K.'s FTSE 100 index UK:UKX -0.78% dropped 0.7% to 5,580.52, while the German DAX 30 index DX:DAX -0.17% was slightly lower at 6,389.62. France's CAC 40 index FR:PX1 +0.23% rose 0.3% to 3,137.60 and the Spanish IBEX 35 index XX:IBEX +0.71% took on 0.9% to 6,856.50.
