Global markets dipped on Thursday and US stocks were lower as oil prices retreated and concerns about a possible slowdown in the economic recovery from COVID-19 weighed.

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Wall Street indexes fell as losses in heavyweight technology and oil stocks offset strong retail sales data.

A report from the US Commerce Department showed retail sales unexpectedly rose in August, indicating positive trends in consumer spending, a key factor in America's economic recovery.

However, the US labour market remains under pressure, with data showing initial jobless claims were slightly more than expected last week.

Oil slipped below USD 75 a barrel on Thursday, falling from a multi-week high a day earlier, as the threat to US Gulf production from Hurricane Nicholas receded.

European equities gained, bucking the trend from a weak Asian session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped to its lowest level so far this year, and Chinese shares sank as investors dumped property and consumer stocks over fears that the liquidity crisis at China's Evergrande Group could affect the broader economy.

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At 1448 GMT, the MSCI world equity index was down by around 0.49 percent, down from its all-time high on September 7.

Unexpectedly weak data from China on Wednesday reinforced investor bets that global growth is slowing due to COVID-19 and supply chain constraints.

But Europe's STOXX 600 was up 0.5 percent on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 160.36 points, or 0.46 percent, to 34,654.03, the S&P 500 lost 26.34 points, or 0.59 percent, to 4,454.36 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 92.52 points, or 0.61 percent, to 15,069.01.

"(Retail spending) categories that were strongest in August were in Covid-beneficiary categories," wrote Ellen Zentner, chief US economist at Morgan Stanley.

"Now incorporating today's retail sales release, we lift our real (personal consumer expenditures) tracking to +1.9 percent and GDP to +5.0 percent."

Markets remain focused next week's Federal Reserve meeting for clues as to when the US central bank will start to taper stimulus, especially after the flurry of US economic data out this week.

On Tuesday, data from the US Commerce Department showed inflation cooling and having possibly peaked, but inflation in Britain was the highest in years, according to data on Wednesday.

"We have an unusual situation where the overall market is sideways to lower but with a risk-on trend underneath and that's down to signs the Delta variant may be peaking in the US, which is driving people into reflation and recovery plays," said Kiran Ganesh, head of cross asset at UBS Global Wealth Management.

"At the same time there are concerns about fiscal consolidation and worries about China moving to lockdowns."

Major banks have told clients to reduce their exposure to stocks, with many market participants expecting the equity bull run to end.

US crude recently fell 1.2 percent to USD 71.74 per barrel and Brent was at USD 74.69, down 1.02 percent on the day.

The dollar index rose 0.523 percent, with the euro down 0.52 percent to USD 1.1753.

The Australian dollar - which is seen as a liquid proxy for risk appetite - was 0.2 percent weaker at USD 0.7318.

Jobs data showed that Australian employment dived in August as coronavirus lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne forced businesses to lay off workers and slash hours.

The US 10-year Treasury yield was 1.3344 percent, while core euro zone government bond yields were little changed.