Nasdaq drops more than 1% as market comeback stumbles, Dow closes at lowest level in two months; European markets close lower, banking stocks gain 
U.S. stocks dropped in choppy trading on Thursday as investors mulled over several economic reports that showed a muddy picture of the U.S. economy. 
The Nasdaq Composite shed 1.43% to close at 11,552.36, while the S&P 500 fell 1.13% to 3,901.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed but still dropped 173.27 points, or 0.56%, to 30,961.82 for its lowest close since July 14. 
Shares of Adobe weighed on the Nasdaq and S&P 500. The software stock lost more than 16% after the company announced a $20 billion deal to buy Figma. The weakness spread to other tech stocks, with Apple falling 1.9% and Salesforce sliding 3.4%. 
A mixed batch of economic reports on Thursday did little to bolster investor confidence. Initial jobless claims came in better than expected, but import prices saw a smaller drop than estimates suggested. Retail sales beat expectations, but were negative when excluding autos. Manufacturing data also showed a slowing economy. 

European markets saw choppy trade Thursday, although banking stocks maintained strong gains. 
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.59% as trading closed in London, after flipping between mild losses and gains during the morning. 
Banking stocks, however, added 1.71% following a Morgan Stanley analyst note upgrading the banking sector. The euro zone bank index hit its highest level since June 10, Reuters reported. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com