European Stocks Plunge As ECB Stands Pat

(RTTNews) - European stocks plunged Thursday, extending steep recent losses, after the the European Central Bank refrained from offering additional support for the region's sluggish economy.

The ECB left its key interest rates unchanged at a record low, after reducing them in a surprise move last month, even as economic momentum in the euro area remains subdued.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks plummeted 2.77 percent. The German DAX dropped 1.99 percent, the French CAC 40 lost 2.8 percent and the FTSE 100 index of the U.K. fell 1.69 percent.

Big banks struggled in light of the ECB decision. Commerzbank lost 4.8 percent.

Allianz, the parent company of fund giant Pimco, will replace its chief executive officer, after the departure of bond expert Bill Gross. Shares fell 1.4 percent.

Rocket Internet, which made its trading debut today, plunged 12.3 percent.

Zalando tumbled 12.2 percent on the second day of trading.

Xaar, which lowered its revenue outlook for the year, plunged 37 percent in London.

TomTom rose 1.3 percent in Amsterdam. Toyota Motor extended a deal with the Netherlands-based supplier of navigation and mapping products.

The CEO of French telecom major Orange SA, Stéphane Richard, confirmed that the company will distribute Netflix video streaming service in France through its set-top boxes from November. Shares dropped 2.5 percent.