U.S. stock indexes declined in Thursday's midday trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost eight-tenths of a percent, while the S&P 500 index dropped one percent. The NASDAQ index slid two-tenths of a percent.

European stock prices were lower at the close of trading. London's Financial Times index fell seven-tenths of a percent to end at 5,403. The CAC-40 in Paris lost 1.3 percent to close at 3,187, while the DAX index in Frankfurt slid 1.3 percent to end at 5,915.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained one percent to finish at 8,823. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.3 percent to finish the day's trading at 18,758.

The price of gold lost more than $13 to trade at $1,662.67 an ounce.

The dollar is down against the yen but gained value compared to the euro.