Investing.com – European stock markets were down sharply on Wednesday, as violence in the Middle East continued and oil prices spiked above USD100, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 1.1%, while Germany's DAX plunged 1.3%.
U.S. crude oil prices spiked past USD100 a barrel, while Brent oil surged above USD116, prompting concerns over the inflationary impact of the global economic recovery.
Shares in the airline sector performed poorly on concerns that higher fuel costs would weigh on profits.
Europe’s largest airliner Deutsche Lufthansa saw shares drop 1.8%, shares in Air France-KLM tumbled 1.8%, while shares in discount airliner easyJet slumped 2.1%.
Meanwhile, shares in the world’s second largest cement manufacturer Holcim dropped 2.38% after it said 2010 net profit fell by 21% to EUR910 million, as activity in the construction sector leveled out in the latter half of the year.
Also Wednesday, shares of French fashion house Christian Dior slid 2.05% after it dismissed its chief designer, John Galliano, after he allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks at a bar in Paris last week.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% as miners led declines. Mining giant BHP Billiton saw shares sink 2.16%, rival Rio Tinto dropped 3.07%, while copper producer Xstrata slid 2.67%.
Meanwhile, shares in the U.K.’s largest hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread tumbled 4.8% after it agreed to acquire self-service coffee bar operator Coffee Nation for approximately GBP59.5 million.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.11%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop 0.14%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.19%.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to testify for a second day before the Senate Banking Committee, while the Fed was to publish its Beige Book. The U.S. was also to publish data on private sector payrolls compiled by payroll processing firm ADP.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.4%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 1.1%, while Germany's DAX plunged 1.3%.
U.S. crude oil prices spiked past USD100 a barrel, while Brent oil surged above USD116, prompting concerns over the inflationary impact of the global economic recovery.
Shares in the airline sector performed poorly on concerns that higher fuel costs would weigh on profits.
Europe’s largest airliner Deutsche Lufthansa saw shares drop 1.8%, shares in Air France-KLM tumbled 1.8%, while shares in discount airliner easyJet slumped 2.1%.
Meanwhile, shares in the world’s second largest cement manufacturer Holcim dropped 2.38% after it said 2010 net profit fell by 21% to EUR910 million, as activity in the construction sector leveled out in the latter half of the year.
Also Wednesday, shares of French fashion house Christian Dior slid 2.05% after it dismissed its chief designer, John Galliano, after he allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks at a bar in Paris last week.
In London, the commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% as miners led declines. Mining giant BHP Billiton saw shares sink 2.16%, rival Rio Tinto dropped 3.07%, while copper producer Xstrata slid 2.67%.
Meanwhile, shares in the U.K.’s largest hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread tumbled 4.8% after it agreed to acquire self-service coffee bar operator Coffee Nation for approximately GBP59.5 million.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.11%, S&P 500 futures indicated a drop 0.14%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.19%.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to testify for a second day before the Senate Banking Committee, while the Fed was to publish its Beige Book. The U.S. was also to publish data on private sector payrolls compiled by payroll processing firm ADP.