Investing.com – European stock markets were broadly lower on Wednesday, as shares in the financial sector led losses after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s sovereign debt rating to junk status.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slumped 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.35%, while Germany's DAX 30 dipped 0.2%.
On Tuesday, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Portugal's credit rating by four notches to Ba2, or junk grade, on the growing risk the country will need a second round of financing.
Financial shares suffered heavy losses, amid fears the region’s debt woes would spread to the banking sector.
French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 2.1% and 2.8% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank declined 1.75% and Commerzbank fell 2.6%.
Peripheral lenders were also broadly lower, with Italy’s Unicredit tumbling 5.2%, while Spanish lenders Banco Santander and BBVA, which own a stake in a number of Portuguese banks, sank 2.85% and 3% respectively.
Shares in France’s largest reinsurer Scor slumped 3.3% after it said it planned to raise EUR75 million by issuing 4.25 million new shares aimed at strengthening its equity capital following heavy insurance claims earlier in the year.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.45% as lenders came under pressure, following their European counterparts lower.
Barclays shares sank 2.5%, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 2.4%, while Lloyds Banking Group saw shares drop 1.35%.
Shares in raw material producers were lower after oil and metal prices retreated on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Oil giant British Petroleum slumped 1.2%, while miners Kazakhmys and Vedanta Resources fell 1.6% and 1.8% respectively.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures shed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures edged 0.1% lower.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to publish a report on service sector growth.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slumped 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.35%, while Germany's DAX 30 dipped 0.2%.
On Tuesday, ratings agency Moody's downgraded Portugal's credit rating by four notches to Ba2, or junk grade, on the growing risk the country will need a second round of financing.
Financial shares suffered heavy losses, amid fears the region’s debt woes would spread to the banking sector.
French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 2.1% and 2.8% respectively, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank declined 1.75% and Commerzbank fell 2.6%.
Peripheral lenders were also broadly lower, with Italy’s Unicredit tumbling 5.2%, while Spanish lenders Banco Santander and BBVA, which own a stake in a number of Portuguese banks, sank 2.85% and 3% respectively.
Shares in France’s largest reinsurer Scor slumped 3.3% after it said it planned to raise EUR75 million by issuing 4.25 million new shares aimed at strengthening its equity capital following heavy insurance claims earlier in the year.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.45% as lenders came under pressure, following their European counterparts lower.
Barclays shares sank 2.5%, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 2.4%, while Lloyds Banking Group saw shares drop 1.35%.
Shares in raw material producers were lower after oil and metal prices retreated on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Oil giant British Petroleum slumped 1.2%, while miners Kazakhmys and Vedanta Resources fell 1.6% and 1.8% respectively.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a decline of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures shed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures edged 0.1% lower.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to publish a report on service sector growth.