European stocks down 2% after strong U.S. jobs report; CAB Payments debuts

LONDON — European stock markets were lower Thursday as traders digested sluggish economic growth.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 2% in afternoon trade. All sectors and major bourses were in the red.

Travel and leisure led losses with a 3.3% drop, followed by retail stocks, which were down 2.5%.

British fintech company CAB Payments made its debut on the London Stock Exchange Thursday, against a backdrop of a few companies opting to list in London this year. “We are excited about London being an amazing place to list a company,” Bhairav Trivedi, CAB Payments CEO, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“We are very bullish on the London Stock Exchange,” Trivedi said, adding that his company wanted to “jumpstart” the U.K. fintech market.

Strong jobs data out of the U.S. prompted 10-year Treasury yields to jump above 4%, and suggested that more fiscal tightening could be on the horizon from the Federal Reserve.

Chinese service sector activity slowed considerably in June, according to the Caixin/S&P Global purchasing managers’ index survey out Wednesday, while PMI figures for the euro zone showed that business output shrunk last month.

Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve officials revealed Wednesday that further tightening, but at a slower pace, is likely, as minutes showed the central bank was split on its decision to pause its rate hikes in June.

Asia-Pacific markets saw sharp losses following the news from the Fed, while U.S. stock futures fell lower early Thursday morning.