European stocks close: stocks closed lower after the World Bank lowered its global economic forecast

Stock indices closed lower after the World Bank lowered its global economic forecast. The World Bank cut its global economic growth forecast for 2015 and 2016 on Tuesday. This decision was driven by disappointing economic outlook in the Eurozone, Japan and some major emerging economies.

The World Bank expects that the global economy would grow 3% in 2015, down from its June forecast of 3.4%. The global growth will reach 3.3% in 2016, down from a June forecast of 3.5%. The global economy is expected to grow 3.2% in 2017.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Wednesday that Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) bond-buying programme was legitimate and in line with monetary policy. The opinion was non-binding. A final decision is expected in the next six months.

The OMT programme was has been announced in September 2012. The programme allows the ECB to purchase government bonds of Eurozone members if they request help. The OMT programme has never been used.

The opinion by the ECJ probably paved the way for the launch of bond-buying programme by the European Central Bank.

The European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in an interview to the German newspaper Die Zeit released on January 14, 2015 that "all members of the Governing Council of the ECB are determined to fulfil our mandate". He added that the ECB's options were limited.

Industrial production in the Eurozone rose 0.2% in November, exceeding expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.3% rise in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.1 increase.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's industrial production fell 0.4% in November, beating expectations for a 0.9% drop, after a 0.8% gain in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.7 increase.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,388.46 -153.74 -2.35%

DAX 9,817.08 -123.92 -1.25%

CAC 40 4,223.24 -67.04 -1.56%