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European stocks drop before Madrid deadline, EU summit

London - Europe's stock markets fell on Thursday, with all eyes on Spain and whether Catalan will abandon a bid for independence ahead of a deadline imposed by Madrid.

Investors will also be tracking the start of an EU summit where Brexit will once again be the focus of attention.

At the open, Spain's IBEX 35 index was down 0.2% at 10 248.7 points.

Elsewhere in the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index dipped 0.1% to 13 036.28 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 0.2% to 5 371.

Outside the single currency bloc, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 0.3% to 7 523.47 points compared with the close Wednesday.

Catalonia's separatist leader Carles Puigdemont must abandon his bid for independence from Spain on Thursday or face an unprecedented move by Madrid to seek a suspension of his region's autonomy.

Puigdemont, who sparked Spain's worst political crisis in decades by holding a banned independence referendum on October 1, has been ordered by Madrid to say by 10:00 whether or not he is unilaterally declaring a split from Spain.

Meanwhile in Brussels, EU President Donald Tusk has warned Britain not to expect any breakthrough in Brexit negotiations at a European summit starting on Thursday, saying London needed to come up with more concrete proposals.

Leaders of the other 27 EU members meeting in Brussels through to Friday are set to postpone until at least December a decision on whether enough progress has been made in talks to move on to discussing Britain and the EU's future relationship.

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