European markets lower

On Thursday markets took a nervous turn in the European session, with government bonds slumping in the wake of a disappointing French debt sale and the selloff spilling over into stocks. Oil clawed back some of its biggest loss in four weeks, while gold and silver retreated.

The yield on benchmark German bunds hit the highest in 17 months as soft demand at the French auction was taken badly by investors, who were already cautious after last week’s hawkish switch by major central banks. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped the most in a week as selling spread to most sectors. West Texas crude climbed back toward $46 per barrel before U.S. government data that’s forecast to confirm crude supplies fell.

The selloff came before the release of details from the latest European Central Bank meeting, and of private jobs data in the U.S. On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Reserve showed a lack of consensus about when to shrink the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet, and how to approach policy strategy in a time of low inflation.

European Union and Japanese leaders endorsed a preliminary free-trade agreement as they seek to counter Donald Trump’s protectionist stance during his second trip to Europe as U.S. president.

EU President Donald Tusk, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave their blessing to an accord that would eliminate 99 percent of tariffs between the two partners, expand markets for services and public procurement, and bolster regulatory cooperation.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.6 percent to $45.84 a barrel. The contract dropped 4.1 percent Wednesday, the most in four weeks, as Russia was said to oppose any proposal to deepen OPEC-led production cuts. Gold lost 0.2 percent to $1,224.29 an ounce, snapping two days of gains. Japan’s Topix dropped 0.1 percent while the yen was steady after swinging between gains and losses.