Global Stocks

European stocks fell Thursday, as bank shares were dragged down and as investors grappled with a stream of corporate earnings reports from key companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Adidas AG.

The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.95% fell 1% to close at 339.47, marking the first loss in four sessions. The pan-European index on Wednesday finished up by 0.4%, led by a surge in French equities.

The topic of Brexit, or the U.K.'s pending exit from the European Union, has been a major theme in European earnings reports in the wake of the U.K.'s June 23 referendum. The impact of currency headwinds and low oil prices have also been areas of concerns for companies.

U.S. stocks closed little changed Thursday following a mixed bag of earnings reports and a slight reprieve from a close correlation with declining oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.09% declined 15.82 points, or 0.1%, to close at 18.456.35, weighed down by shares of Boeing Co. BA, -2.17% which closed down 2.2%. The S&P 500 Index SPX, +0.16% advanced 3.48 points, or 0.2%, to close at 2,170.06, led by gains in the consumer-staples and utilities sectors. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.30% rose 15.17 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 5,154.98 its highest close since Dec. 1, 2015. Oil futures for September delivery CLU6, -0.34% dropped 1.9% to settle at $41.14 a barrel.

Asian shares slipped after touching a near one-year peak on Friday, while Japanese stocks tumbled and the yen strengthened as the Bank of Japan's fresh stimulus measures disappointed markets.

The BOJ modestly increased purchases of exchange-traded funds, but maintained its base money target at 80 trillion yen ($775 billion) and the pace of purchases of other assets, including Japanese government bonds.

The central bank also held at 0.1 percent the interest it charges to a portion of excess reserves financial institutions leave with the central bank.

Japan's Nikkei .N225, which swung between gains and losses right after the announcement, was last trading down 1.5 percent. The index, which touched a seven-week high last week, was on track for a 2.4 percent weekly drop, shrinking gains for July to 4.2 percent.