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European risk assets remain under pressure as investors digest the latest round of bank stress tests by the European Banking Authority.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Deutsche Boerse AG pulled off a $9.7 billion takeover of NYSE Euronext as shareholders approved a deal to create the world's largest exchange operator amid resistance in Frankfurt.

The spot price of gold set fresh intraday records after Moody's put its long-standing triple-A rating of U.S. Treasurys on review, triggering fresh buying of the yellow metal and prompting bulls to eye a break above $1,600 a troy ounce.

The New York Stock Exchange, an icon of American capitalism, is expected to take a crucial step toward ceding control to a German company on Thursday, with little opposition expected from investors.

A credit agency warning that Greece could face default if it follows an international plan designed to help the country cope with its massive debts caused Asian markets to stall Tuesday.

Developments in Greece helped stocks in the United States, closing a volatile quarter marked by debt concerns in the euro zone and by a struggling economic recovery at home.

An unexpected jump in claims for unemployment benefits and plummeting oil prices are driving stocks lower in early trading Thursday.

Worry about lack of substantive progress towards a blueprint for tackling the euro zone debt crisis kept investors on edge, traders said. In the United States, consumer inflation rose more than expected in May.

Stocks are shaking off a two-week slump after a report on retail sales wasn't as bad as economists had predicted... The government said Tuesday that retail sales edged down 0.2 percent last month, the first decline in nearly a year. That was slightly better than analysts were expecting. Americans bought fewer cars during the month, but the decline reflected temporary supply chain disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan. Excluding weak car sales, retail sales rose 0.3 percent.

New doubts about the economic recovery's strength knocked the Dow Jones industrial average down almost 200 points Wednesday... The ISM's manufacturing index fell to 53.5 in May from 60.4 in April... And private employers added just 38,000 jobs in May, down from 177,000 in April, according to payroll processor ADP.