BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets slumped Friday after a report showed unemployment hitting an all-time high across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said Friday that unemployment rose to 12.2 percent in April from the previous record of 12.1 percent the month before.
European stocks fell in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.9 percent to 6,599.76. Germany's DAX lost 0.9 percent to 8,323.05. France's CAC-40 declined 1.1 percent to 3,952.50.
Wall Street also appeared headed for losses. Dow Jones industrial futures shed 0.5 percent to 15,237. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.6 percent to 1,643.40.
The dour European jobs figures came on top of lackluster U.S. economic reports Thursday that raised expectations the Federal Reserve will stick to its aggressive stimulus policies.
U.S. unemployment claims rose and first-quarter growth was revised lower, which in a perverse turn of events was encouraging for some investors who want to see the Fed continue its mammoth purchases of government bonds to support the U.S. economy.