Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Wednesday, as concerns over the worsening of the euro zone's debt crisis and over the outlook for global economic growth dampened market sentiment.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.29%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.19%.
Sentiment weakened after Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the euro group of finance ministers said the euro value was “dangerously high” and posed a threat to the region’s economic recovery.
Separately, the World Bank sharply revised on Tuesday its 2013 outlook for the world economy to 2.4% from its last forecast of 3% in June, saying an unexpectedly sluggish recovery in developed countries was to blame for slow global growth.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale plummeted 1.70% and 3.40%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 1.25% and 0.06% respectively.
Peripheral lenders also posted sharp losses, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander dropping 0.52% and 0.93%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit tumbled 1.07% and 1.21%.
Elsewhere, Barry Callebaut retreated 0.72% after reporting lower-than-expected first-quarter sales of CHF1.25 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.45%, led by heavy losses in oil and mining stocks.
Oil and gas major Anglo American dove 3.96%, after workers at South Africa's Rustenburg operations refused to go underground in a protest at company plans to close mines. Rival BP dropped 0.34%.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were also on the downside, tumbling 1.01% and 1.17%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys plunged 2.11% and 1.53% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks trended broadly lower, led by Lloyds Banking, down 2.10%, and closely followed by the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose shares plummeted 1.75%, while Barclays and HSBC Holdings retreated 1.70% and 0.47%.
Meanwhile, ARM Holdings, whose chips power Apple’s iPhones, remained in negative territory for the second consecutive session, sliding 1.86%, after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. cut its rating on the stock to underperform from market perform, saying the company’s current share price reflects an unrealistic assessment of its potential to penetrate markets and its capacity to increase royalty rates.
On Tuesday, the stock was cut to equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.27 fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.28% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% loss.
Later in the day, both the euro zone and the U.S. were to release official data on consumer inflation, while Germany was to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.29%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.19%.
Sentiment weakened after Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the euro group of finance ministers said the euro value was “dangerously high” and posed a threat to the region’s economic recovery.
Separately, the World Bank sharply revised on Tuesday its 2013 outlook for the world economy to 2.4% from its last forecast of 3% in June, saying an unexpectedly sluggish recovery in developed countries was to blame for slow global growth.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale plummeted 1.70% and 3.40%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 1.25% and 0.06% respectively.
Peripheral lenders also posted sharp losses, with Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander dropping 0.52% and 0.93%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit tumbled 1.07% and 1.21%.
Elsewhere, Barry Callebaut retreated 0.72% after reporting lower-than-expected first-quarter sales of CHF1.25 billion.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.45%, led by heavy losses in oil and mining stocks.
Oil and gas major Anglo American dove 3.96%, after workers at South Africa's Rustenburg operations refused to go underground in a protest at company plans to close mines. Rival BP dropped 0.34%.
Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were also on the downside, tumbling 1.01% and 1.17%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys plunged 2.11% and 1.53% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks trended broadly lower, led by Lloyds Banking, down 2.10%, and closely followed by the Royal Bank of Scotland, whose shares plummeted 1.75%, while Barclays and HSBC Holdings retreated 1.70% and 0.47%.
Meanwhile, ARM Holdings, whose chips power Apple’s iPhones, remained in negative territory for the second consecutive session, sliding 1.86%, after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. cut its rating on the stock to underperform from market perform, saying the company’s current share price reflects an unrealistic assessment of its potential to penetrate markets and its capacity to increase royalty rates.
On Tuesday, the stock was cut to equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.27 fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.28% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% loss.
Later in the day, both the euro zone and the U.S. were to release official data on consumer inflation, while Germany was to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.