On Thursday, major European stock indices broadly opened lower, as rising borrowing costs and persistently high oil prices weighed on market sentiment.

Bank and technology shares declined, with the Stoxx Europe 600 falling 0.4%. The FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.3%.

Financial stocks dragged on the broader market, with insurance group Standard Life sliding 4.4%.

In Frankfurt, the German DAX index, which is relatively sensitive to energy costs, fell 0.5%. Defense group Rheinmetall dropped 2%, and auto stocks broadly declined, with BMW falling 2.6%.

In Paris, BNP Paribas dropped 4.3%, dragging the French CAC 40 index down 0.4%. French auto stocks also fell, though a cautious rebound in luxury shares somewhat cushioned the index's decline, with LVMH rising 0.8%.

In other European markets, Italy's FTSE MIB index fell 0.5%, and Spain's IBEX 35 index declined about 0.4%. The tech-heavy Dutch AEX index edged down 0.15%, with semiconductor equipment maker ASML dropping 0.4%.