World stocks fell Thursday as concerns about the US economy continued to hurt investor sentiment despite an unexpected rebound in US retail sales in January. Downbeat corporate news also weighed heavily on European markets. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 32.16 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,202.10, while Germany's DAX declined 122.53 points, or 2.7 percent, to 4,407.56. The CAC-40 in France was 63.38 points, or 2.1 percent, lower at 2,964.34. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 109.51 points, or 1.4 percent, at 7,830.02 while the broader Standard and amp; Poor's 500 index fell 10.29 points, or 1.2 percent, to 823.45. The losses in the US came despite a 1 percent jump in US retail sales in January as consumers responded to bargains, particularly in the auto sector. The rise, which concluded a six-month losing streak, was unexpected. The markets were expecting a 0.8 percent decline. Analysts said the $789 billion stimulus package passed by Congress, which will likely be signed into law next week by President Barack Obama, will take a long time to have an effect. Sentiment on Wall Street has been hit this week by growing pessimism about the state of the US economy, especially after the bank rescue plan announced by US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner failed to encourage financial markets because of an apparent lack of detail. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average tumbled 240.58 points, or 3 percent, to 7,705.36 _ the lowest in nearly three months. The Nikkei's losses were accentuated by the fact the markets had been closed on Wednesday for a national holiday. Meanwhile, the dollar fell 0.1 percent to 90.32 yen while the euro declined 0.5 percent to $1.2834.
