In Europe on Thursday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.15 percent to 1,203.25, backing off from 38-month highs reached on Wednesday.

Part of the loss came on the sudden end to a rally in the construction sector. Lafarge, the world’s biggest cement producer, announced that it was cutting back its forecasts for the full year and reported first half net profits that had fallen by 18 percent. It blamed tough competition and a drop in demand in Germany for the disappointing results. Lafarge lost 7.4 percent on the day to €72, a decline which erased nearly all its gains on the year.

Elsewhere in the sector things were a bit better, as Swiss company Holcim gained 0.2 percent to SFr82.95, while Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso advanced 2.7 percent to €22.58 on the announcement that it wants to refinance around €1.3 billion in debt by the end of the year. Despite these gains, the construction sub-index fell by 1.4 percent on the day.

There were declines despite good earnings reports in other sectors. Brewer Inbev lost 2 percent to €31.40 in spite of a significant jump in first-half earnings when it warned that declining beer sales in western Europe could mean job cuts and brewery closures in that region.

Opthalmic lens manufacturer Essilor International had largely the same experience, losing 2.2 percent to €64.35 even though it saw a 19 percent rise in first-half net profits, better than expected, when it warned that higher operating costs would mean less profits in the second half of the year. And French retailer PPR lost 0.1 percent to close the session at €87.75 despite a first half performance by its luxury goods division that led to a better-than-expected first half performance.