European stocks finished with modest losses Wednesday, as U.K. online supermarket Ocado PLC and German chemicals heavyweight Bayer AG helped lead the way lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower Wednesday, snapping a seven-session winning streak, as well as a string of four consecutive record close, as a postelection rally by financial stocks paused.

A drop in oil prices weighed on Asia stocks on Thursday, ahead of inflation, jobs and exports data expected from the U.S. and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's testimony on the economic outlook to Congress later in the day.