European stocks fell, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index posting its biggest monthly drop since August, as the number of Americans applying for unemployment insurance payments rose and U.S. business activity slowed.

The Irish vote on the European Union’s latest treaty today, with polls indicating they will endorse measures designed to ease the euro region’s debt crisis.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the ECB cannot fill the “vacuum” of the lack of fiscal prudence and governance in the euro area and called for Europe’s leaders to outline where they see the euro region in the future.

Business activity in the U.S. expanded at the slowest pace in more than two years in May as orders and production cooled.

National benchmark indexes fell in all of the 18 western European markets today, except the U.K., France, Greece and Austria. Germany’s DAX dropped 0.3 percent, the Swiss Market Index fell 0.9 percent, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent

ABB, the biggest supplier of mobile power stations, declined 2.9 percent to 15.21 Swiss francs. The company will probably fail to reach the upper end of revenue targets for its low-voltage subsidiary on lackluster demand from China and Italy, said Tarak Mehta, the head of the unit.

Logica jumped 66 percent to 1.37 euros in Amsterdam after Montreal-based CGI announced it had reached an agreement to buy the U.K. computer-services provider in a 1.7 billion pounds cash transaction, offering a premium of 59.8 percent to its closing price yesterday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was poised for its worst monthly drop since September as the world’s largest economy grew less than previously estimated, business activity expanded at a slower pace and jobless claims increased.

Equities slumped after data showed business activity in the U.S. expanded in May at the slowest pace in more than two years. The number of Americans applying for unemployment insurance payments rose last week to a one-month high. Gross domestic product climbed at a 1.9 percent annual rate from January through March, down from a 2.2 percent prior estimate.

Investors also watched the latest developments in Europe’s attempts to tame its crisis. Italy’s prime minister and central bank chief pressed Germany to back more aggressive efforts to snuff out the escalating debt crisis, setting up a south-north showdown over how to stabilize the 17-nation euro economy.

Joy Global tumbled 7 percent to $54.90, driving industrial shares lower. The maker of P&H and Joy mining equipment cut forecasts for full-year earnings and revenue as mining companies ease capital expenditure amid concern over the slowdown in China. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the largest maker of construction and mining equipment, sank 4 percent to $86.62.

Facebook, which this week fell below $30 for the first time, dropped 3.4 percent to $27.22. The shares dropped for a fourth straight day amid concern that the world’s largest social-networking service will struggle to wring profit from its 901 million users.

Kohl’s Corp. retreated 5.6 percent to $46.10 after the retailer said May same-store sales decreased 4.2 percent. That compares with the average estimate for a 1.1 percent decline.

Talbots climbed 91 percent to $2.47. The women’s clothing retailer trying to reverse falling sales agreed to be bought by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners for a reduced price of $369 million, including debt. Talbots accepted the lower bid after last week saying it had failed to reach an agreement with Sycamore during 2 1/2 weeks of exclusive talks.

Ciena Corp. climbed 7.5 percent to $12.77. The maker of networking equipment rose after second-quarter sales and earnings topped analysts’ estimates. Ciena is capitalizing on demand for speedy fiber-optic networks, which transmit data in the form of light over fiber strands.

Resistance 3:1348/50 (area of May 14-15 highs)

Resistance 2:1334 (area of May 29-30 highs and МА (20) for D1)

Resistance 1:1314 (area of session high and МА (200) for Н1)

Current price: 1302,75

Support 1:1300 (session low)

Support 2:1294 (May 23 low)

Support 3:1288 (low of May)

U.S. stock futures pared gains as data showed jobless claims increased and the economy grew more slowly than previously estimated.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  8,542.73 -90.46 -1.05%

Hang Seng 18,629.52 -60.70 -0.32%

Shanghai Composite 2,372.23 -12.43 -0.52%

FTSE  5,318.91 +21.63 +0.41%

CAC  3,020.96 +5.38 +0.18%

DAX 6,285.81 +5.01 +0.08%

Crude oil $87.45 (-0.42%)

Gold $1564.90 (+0.10%)

Asian stocks fell, with the benchmark regional gauge headed to its biggest monthly drop since 2008, as Europe’s debt crisis threatened to engulf countries other than Greece and Japan’s factory output trailed estimates.

Nikkei 225 8,542.73 -90.46 -1.05%

S&P/ASX 200 4,076.3 -17.93 -0.44%

Shanghai Composite 2,371.32 -13.35 -0.56%

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. a machinery maker, fell 2 percent in Tokyo. Technology companies led declines, with Samsung Electronics Co., which gets a fifth of its sales from Europe, sliding 1.2 percent in Seoul.

James Hardie Industries SE, a seller of home siding that counts the U.S. as its biggest market, retreated 0.8 percent in Sydney after U.S. home sales declined.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s No. 1 offshore energy explorer, dropped 1.3 percent in Hong Kong as oil futures in New York entered a bear market.

Resistance 3 : $1.5645 (May 23 high)

Resistance 2 : $1.5615 (high of the American session on May 30 high)

Resistance 1 : $1.5550 (low of the European session on May 30)

The current price: $1.5476

Support 1 : $1.5460 (session low)

Support 2 : $1.5400 (psychological level)

Support 3 : $1.5325 (Jan 18 low)

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 8,633.19 -23.89 -0.28%

S&P/ASX 200 4,094.2 -20.21 -0.49%

Shanghai Composite 2,381.26 -8.37 -0.35%