European shares plunged by closing Wednesday’s trading session, halting the biggest three-day rally since June 2010, as investors took a step back amid concerns that Greek bond holders might be suffering substantial losses unless European lenders find a quick joint to tackle the worsening sovereign-debt crisis of their 17-nation Euro zone.
The benchmark index for Europe, the STOXX 600 ended lower by 1.10% to 227.39, and STOXX 50 ended down by 0.84% at 2163.25.
CAC 40 Index
The French index fell 27.76 points or 0.92% to finally close at 2995.62. The index started the session at 2990.47 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 3055.67 and its lowest level at 2969.49.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the ArcelorMittal share as it plummeted 3.82% to end at €12.07, following is the Societe Generale SA share as it shed 2.83% to settle at €19.92, while coming in third is the BNP Paribas SA share which slumped 1.31% to close at €29.65.
Best performing stocks within the index were the AXA share which inclined 1.90% to settle at €10.00, in second place came the Total SA share which closed higher by 0.26% at €32.93 and in the third place came the Cie Generale d’Optique Essilor share which inclined 1.43% to settle at €54.44.
DAX Index
German equities retreated today as the benchmark index DAX 30 closed the session lower by 50.02 points or 0.89% at 5578.42. The index started the session at 5560.60 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 5700.08 and its lowest level at 5520.59.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Deutsche Boerse AG share as it plummeted 3.95% to end at €39.24, following is the Deutsche Bank AG share as it shed 3.84% to settle at €27.20, while coming in third is the Commerzbank AG share which slumped 3.43% to close at €1.92.
Best performing stocks within the index were the Merck KGaA share which inclined 1.52% to settle at €61.62, in second place came the SAP AG share which closed higher by 1.28% at €38.32 and in the third place came the Muenchener Rueckversicherungs share which inclined 1.06% to settle at €91.80.
FTSE 100 Index
The British benchmark index ended the day lower to settle at 5217.63 with a loss of 76.42 points or 1.44%. The index started the session at 5294.05 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 5314.29 and its lowest level at 5191.36.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Rio Tinto PLC share as it plummeted 4.36% to end at £3057.00, following is the HSBC Holding PLC share as it shed 2.00% to settle at £510.00, while coming in third is the BHP Billiton PLC share which slumped 4.08% to close at £1799.00.
Best performing stocks within the index were the BG Group PLC share which inclined 3.40% to settle at £1262.50, in second place came the Vodafone Group PLC share which closed higher by 0.30% at £166.70 and in the third place came the Smiths Group PLC share which inclined 2.21% to settle at £969.50.