According to the British Bankers' Association, the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR for three month loan climbed 2 basis points to 2.15%. The overnight rate rose 2 basis points to 0.40%.

On the front of economic data, a release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 32,000 to 516,00 in the week ending Nov. 8. It is the highest level for initial claims since 2001. Economists had forecast jobless claims to fall by 8,000 to 477,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, increased by 13,250 to 491,000.  Continuing claims for the week ending Nov. 1 rose to 3.89 million, their highest level since 1983.

A separate release by RealtyTrac Inc on Thursday showed that foreclosure rate in October rose 25% year-over-year. A total of 84,868 homes were lost to foreclosure in October.

Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday that developed countries are now in recession and face a "protracted" downturn, with the US, Japanese and eurozone economies likely to contract next year.

Meanwhile, Germany entered recession for the first time since 2003 as a release on Thursday showed that its economy shrank in the third quarter.  The Federal Statistics Office said German GDP contracted by 0.5% in the third quarter, following an upwardly-revised 0.4% contraction in the second quarter.

European stocks finished mixed on Thursday. The U.K. FTSE dropped 12.81 points or 0.56% to 4,169.21. The German DAX and French CAC rose 0.62% and 1.1% respectively.

Asian stocks plummeted on Thursday. The Nikkei 225 fell 456.87 points or 5.25% to 8,238.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 717.74 points or 5.15% to 13,221.35.
 
NYMEX Crude oil for December delivery contract climbed $2.08, or 3.7%, to settle at $58.24 a barrel.
 
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.