The German market declined on Thursday afternoon, as investors exercised caution amid the unrest in Yemen and weak economic data from Wall Street overnight.
Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen with the support of Gulf region allies and the U.S. The country has been facing a power vacuum from January, when the rebels staged an apparently successful coup, forcing president Abd rabbu Mansour Hadi and his cabinet to resign.
Saudi ambassador in the US, Adel al-Jubeir said the military action was aimed to defend the "legitimate government" of Hadi, who has taken refuge in the southern port city of Aden.
Survey data from the market research group GfK indicated that German consumer confidence is set to improve in April. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to 10 in April from 9.7 points in March. The index was expected to rise marginally to 9.8.
Germany's real wage index increased in 2014 to reach its highest level since the beginning of the time series in 2008, final figures from Destatis showed. The real earnings grew 1.7 percent from the previous year, which was revised upwardly from a 1.6 percent increase initially estimated, amid the lower inflation pressure in the country.
The French economy grew marginally as initially estimated in the fourth quarter, final data from the statistical office Insee showed.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks was declining 1.57 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, was losing 1.14 percent.
The DAX index fell 1.35 percent.
Infineon Technologies declined 3.4 percent and Fresenius Medical Care dropped 3.1 percent.
UBS reduced Bayer to "Neutral" from "Buy." The stock retreated 2.5 percent.
Auto stocks Continental, Volkswagen and BMW were losing more than 2 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. Stocks extended losses into a third straight session on Wednesday as weak durable goods orders data and concerns that the recent dollar strength can sap earnings growth overshadowed news of a big merger between food icons Kraft and Heinz.
The Dow dropped 1.6 percent and the S&P shed 1.5 percent, while a slump in technology and biotech stocks pulled down the Nasdaq index down about 2.4 percent, its biggest decline in nearly a year.
The Asian stocks fell broadly after U.S. stocks suffered their third straight session of declines overnight.
Crude for May delivery rose $2.22 to $51.43 per barrel, while gold added $15.1 to $1212.1 a troy ounce.
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