Investing.com - European shares closed sharply lower Wednesday, as traders remained nervous ahead of the Fed meeting minutes and hopes diminished for European Central Bank easing measures.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 1.51%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.01%.
Investors remained cautious as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras later Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday, while Antonis Samaras is to meet with the French and German leaders later in the week.
Stocks were boosted on Tuesday, after the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper said earlier that it could confirm weekend reports that the ECB may set a cap on peripheral euro zone bond yields at its next policy meeting in September.
Market participants were also anticipating the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting later in the day, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in France’s Societe Generale eased 0.09%, while BNP Paribas rose 0.20% and German lender Deutsche Bank advanced 0.40%.
Italian lenders outperformed their European counterparts on the other hand, with shares in Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit jumping 2.50% and 0.68%.
On the downside, Vestas Wind Systems plunged 3.30% after the Denmark-based wind-turbine maker said it will cut another 1,400 jobs to lower costs by more than EUR250 million euros.
Heineken added to losses, as shares tumbled 2.74%, after posting first-half earnings that missed analysts’ estimates due to higher costs.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 plummeted 1.42%, led by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton dove 2.50% and 1.76% respectively, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 1.05% and 3.37%.
BHP reported earlier that its full year net profit fell by 35% to USDUS15.42 billion, due to lower commodity prices and high write-downs on US, shale, Australian nickel and its Australian Olympic Dam project.
The mining giant added that it won't approve any new projects until at least mid-2013 and it expects more volatility in commodity markets in the short term due to weakness in manufacturing and construction sectors.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders remained mostly lower. Shares in HSBC Holdings dropped 1.20% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.53%, while Barclays retreated 0.84%.
The Royal Bank of Scotland also came into focus on reports the Fed and the U.S. Justice Department started an investigation into the U.K. lender for potentially violating sanctions against Iran.
Only Lloyds Banking managed to erase earlier losses, with shares climbing 0.40%, amid reports the task the U.K. lender set itself three years ago to sell GBP200 billion of unwanted loans and investments inched closer to completion as the bank agreed to a string of deals over the summer.
In the U.S., equity markets followed lower with the Dow down 0.56%, the S&P 500 off 0.31% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lower by 0.14% in mid session trade.
Investors are awaiting the Fed minutes later in the session as well as U.S. new home sales, jobless claims and euro zone PMI on Thursday.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 1.51%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.47%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tumbled 1.01%.
Investors remained cautious as Luxemburg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro zone finance ministers, was to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras later Wednesday, to discuss a two-year extension of the country’s economic reform program.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet with French President Francois Hollande on Thursday, while Antonis Samaras is to meet with the French and German leaders later in the week.
Stocks were boosted on Tuesday, after the U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper said earlier that it could confirm weekend reports that the ECB may set a cap on peripheral euro zone bond yields at its next policy meeting in September.
Market participants were also anticipating the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August policy meeting later in the day, amid speculation over how close the U.S. central bank may be to implementing another round of stimulus measures.
Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in France’s Societe Generale eased 0.09%, while BNP Paribas rose 0.20% and German lender Deutsche Bank advanced 0.40%.
Italian lenders outperformed their European counterparts on the other hand, with shares in Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit jumping 2.50% and 0.68%.
On the downside, Vestas Wind Systems plunged 3.30% after the Denmark-based wind-turbine maker said it will cut another 1,400 jobs to lower costs by more than EUR250 million euros.
Heineken added to losses, as shares tumbled 2.74%, after posting first-half earnings that missed analysts’ estimates due to higher costs.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 plummeted 1.42%, led by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton dove 2.50% and 1.76% respectively, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 1.05% and 3.37%.
BHP reported earlier that its full year net profit fell by 35% to USDUS15.42 billion, due to lower commodity prices and high write-downs on US, shale, Australian nickel and its Australian Olympic Dam project.
The mining giant added that it won't approve any new projects until at least mid-2013 and it expects more volatility in commodity markets in the short term due to weakness in manufacturing and construction sectors.
Meanwhile, U.K. lenders remained mostly lower. Shares in HSBC Holdings dropped 1.20% and the Royal Bank of Scotland declined 0.53%, while Barclays retreated 0.84%.
The Royal Bank of Scotland also came into focus on reports the Fed and the U.S. Justice Department started an investigation into the U.K. lender for potentially violating sanctions against Iran.
Only Lloyds Banking managed to erase earlier losses, with shares climbing 0.40%, amid reports the task the U.K. lender set itself three years ago to sell GBP200 billion of unwanted loans and investments inched closer to completion as the bank agreed to a string of deals over the summer.
In the U.S., equity markets followed lower with the Dow down 0.56%, the S&P 500 off 0.31% and the tech heavy Nasdaq lower by 0.14% in mid session trade.
Investors are awaiting the Fed minutes later in the session as well as U.S. new home sales, jobless claims and euro zone PMI on Thursday.