European stock markets closed slightly lower on Thursday, extending losses as investors waited for a clearer lead on the economic outlook, dealers said.
They said a marginally better-than-expected US new jobless claims report bolstered hopes that the US economy was not at risk of slipping back into recession but it was also not strong enough to justify any gains.
The markets, they said, have been consolidating after their recent advance and will need a solid new lead to break out of current ranges.
In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.28 percent at 5,540.14 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 index lost 0.52 percent to 3,736.30 points and in Frankfurt, the DAX slipped 0.20 percent to 6,249.65 points.
The euro rose against the out of favour dollar, hitting 1.3075 dollars, up from 1.3009 dollars in late New York trade Wednesday.
The dollar was little changed at 85.74 yen after 85.72 yen.
Gold hit a fresh record of just over 1,278 dollars an ounce during the day but by the close had slipped back to 1,272.50 dollars as commentators predicted more gains to come for the traditional safe haven investment.
In Paris, Pascal Plunet of Barclays Capital said volumes were thin, with the market unable to break through resistance at 3,800 points on the CAC 40.
The US jobless claims data had little impact but there could be more activity on Friday when the expiry of options and futures contracts usually drives interest, Plunet said.
In New York, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.16 percent at 1555 GMT as the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.36 percent.
Dealers said the jobless claims figures suggested that the US economy was at least still on track but there was little likelihood of a strong upturn while the employment market remained weak.
"Our conclusion is that the economy is continuing to muddle forward at a slightly better pace than expected a month ago," Frederic Dickson, chief market analyst at D.A. Davidson said.
"The evidence reinforces our view that the economy is not sliding into a deep recession, as expected in the double-dip scenario," he added in a note.
New US jobless claims for the week to September 11 fell to 450,000, down 3,000 from the previous week and better than forecasts for 460,000.
Elsewhere in Europe, Amsterdam dropped 0.35 percent, Brussels shed 0.70 percent, Madrid was down 0.33 percent despite a successful government bond sale, Milan lost 0.90 percent and Swiss stocks fell 0.15 percent.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo closed flat, with investors increasingly believing that government efforts to stem the strong yen and so help exporters will not make much progress.
Hong Kong fell 0.16 percent and Shanghai was down 1.89 percent on concerns the central bank could soon hike interest rates while Sydney lost 1.21 percent.
