(MENAFN– ecpulse)
European shares retreated on Wednesday’s midday trading resuming its fall for a fourth straight session, marking the longest stretch in seven weeks, on escalating violence I Iraq, ahead of important U.S. data.
The situation is getting worse in Iraq due the rise in the pace of violence and amid concerns any U.S. intervention would make the situation more gloomy.
Insurgents are firming their hold on parts of Iraq, according to U.S. officials, sparking hefty losses in Wall Street on Tuesday.
Later in the day, the attention will shift to U.S. data after the release of upbeat new home sales and consumer confidence reports yesterday.
A report due at 12:30 GMT may signal the world’s biggest economy recorded a contraction of 1.8 in the first quarter from the second reading of 1.0 percent contraction. Separately another report may show U.S. durable goods stalled in May.
As of 06:37 EST, STOXX EUROPE 600 slipped 0.63% to record 343.41 points. Utilities led the decline with a drop of 1.09%, where Banca Monte recorded the largest losses as its shares plummeted 16.20% to 1.567 EUR.
Banco Comercial Portugues SA, on the other hand, led the largest gains as its equities rose 12.30% to 0.178 EUR.
Regarding other major European indices, France’s CAC 40 index plunged 0.64% to 4489.24 points, and FTSE 100 slumped 0.60% to 6746.31 points. Germany`s DAX 30 edged down 0.37% to 9901.02 points.
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