A broad gauge of European stocks steadied at the end of trade Thursday, after spending the session struggling to find firm direction. But French blue-chip shares climbed after data showed the country led the strengthening in the eurozone economy this month. How key gauges moved: The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.02% closed up less than 1 point at 387.12 after a topsy-turvy session for European equities. The index had risen as much as 0.2% and lost as much as 0.6% intraday.

U.S. stock futures were struggling to make much headway on Thursday, as traders steered away from making any big trading bets and instead focused on Thanksgiving Day feasting. The global backdrop for equities was mostly weaker, with Chinese stocks dropping sharply and European stocks largely sluggish except for French blue chips.

More new regulations and investors' preference for larger-cap companies whacked Chinese stocks, while activity was muted elsewhere in Asia. Thursday is a holiday in Japan and the U.S. The Shenzhen Composite 399106, -0.49% closed down 2.9% and the startup-heavy ChiNext gauge 399102, -0.27% slid 2.8% as Beijing took steps to halt the proliferation of small online lenders, days after saying it plans to streamline oversight of asset-management products sold by financial institutions.