By Sam Forgione NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in funds based in the United States poured $1.51 billion into Japanese stock funds in the latest week, marking the longest streak of inflows into the funds on record, data from Thomson Reuters' Lipper service showed on Thursday.

(Reuters) - Insurer American International Group Inc's <AIG.N> quarterly profit fell about 35 percent on lower premium income and higher claims. Net income fell to $1.98 billion, or $1.34 per share, for the first quarter, from $3.05 billion, or $1.71 per share, a year earlier. On an operating basis, AIG earned $1.34 per share. (Reporting by Aman Shah and Anil D'Silva in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

European stock markets fell on Wednesday, with Frankfurt shares briefly shedding more than 2.0 percent as speculation swirled over a potential credit rating downgrade, dealers said. In afternoon trade, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index of top companies sank as low as 7,514.01 points. It later stood at 7,547.77, down 1.75 percent from Tuesday's closing level. Elsewhere, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid 0.58 percent to 6,238.31 points, and in Paris the CAC 40 dropped 1.48 percent to 3,631.23 points.

Shares in struggling Japanese electronics maker Sharp rocketed more than 14 percent on Monday morning after a weekend report that it plans to sell its entire 9.2 percent stake in rival Pioneer. Sharp shares were up 14.02 percent at 382 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at the break while Pioneer climbed 6.19 percent to 223 yen. Sharp, the largest shareholder in Pioneer, aims to sell the 30 million shares in a lump-sum deal as early as this month to companies that can expect synergies with Pioneer's operations, the Nikkei newspaper reported.