European stock indexes dipped lower on Thursday after, Reuters reported. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which rose 16 percent in 2013 and hit a 5-1/2 year high in January, edged down by 0.3 percent to 1,315.17 points in early session trading. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also declined by 0.4 percent to 3,119.22 points. The drop at H&M took the most points off the FTSEurofirst 300 index. The STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index fell 0.6 percent, with some of the region's top lenders hit by a ruling overnight by the U.S. Federal Reserve to block some banks' plans for higher dividends or share buybacks. The FTSEurofirst 300 has made little headway since hitting its 5-1/2-year peak of 1,353.47 points in late January, as concerns about a possible economic slowdown in China and tensions between Western powers and Russia after Russia's seizure of Crimea have pushed stock markets lower.
