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European stocks finished Thursday’s session in negative territory as investors digested the latest U.S. jobless claims data and tracked the lack of progress in negotiations over a U.S. pandemic relief package.

The Europe Stoxx 600 closed 0.63% lower, with banks shedding 1.91% to lead losses while retail bucked the trend to add 0.24%.

U.S. jobless claims for the week ending August 7 totaled 963,000, Labor Department figures revealed Thursday, well below the estimate of 1.1 million from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and the first time unemployment filings have fallen below 1 million since March.

Thyssenkrupp was the worst performers on the European blue chip index, closing 16.3% lower after the German steel company posted a 679 million euro ($800 million) quarterly loss. The company said it’s seeing signs of stabilization, however, following the easing of lockdown restrictions and the sale last month of its elevator unit.

Aegon shares fell 15.32% after the Dutch insurer reported a 67% fall in first-half net profit.

Reference: CNBC