Europe ends sharply lower on Draghi comments

European equities reversed sharp gains to finish firmly in the red on Thursday, following comments by Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and a sharp slip in commodity prices.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 1.7 percent by the close, with all sectors closing in the red. Autos was the worst performer, off 4.1 percent as a sector.

All major bourses finished in negative territory, with London's FTSE tumbling 1.8 percent following a sell-off in mining stocks. Despite earlier highs, France's CAC slipped 1.7 percent and Germany's DAX slumped 2.3 percent by the close.

Earlier on in the day, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index surged over 2 percent after an ECB rate decision, but pared some gains as Draghi spoke at a press conference. He said that he did not anticipate the need to reduce rates further, but added that new facts could change the situation. This dampened "risk-on" sentiment and the euro climbed higher after initially falling.

The central bank initially announced a range of measures including a cut to its main refinancing rate to 0.0 percent and a cut to its deposit rate to -0.4 percent. The bank also extended its monthly asset purchases to 80 billion euros. At Europe's close, the euro was up against the dollar, trading at $1.116.