(menafn – ecpulse)
Shares of the 17-nation euro area were slightly changed at the close on Wednesday, erasing some of the earlier gains after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testimony to the Congress dampened speculation about more quantitative easing to support what looks to be an economy that is on track of recovery.
Equities joined losses in U.S stocks after the Bernanke reiterated the jobs market is for from being normal even with falling unemployment. The benchmark index for Europe, the STOXX 600 ended flat at 264.32, and STOXX 50 ended down by 0.21% at 2476.52.
CAC 40 Index
The French index fell a thin 1.54 point or 0.95% to finally close at 5871.51. The index started the session at 3464.88 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 3489.48 and its lowest level at 3447.61.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Sanofi share as it plummeted 0.70% to end at €55.51, following is the ArcelorMittal share as it shed 1.98% to settle at €15.83, while coming in third is the GDF Suez share which slumped 1.07% to close at €19.47.
Best performing stocks within the index were the Carrefour SA share which inclined 2.84% to settle at €18.82, in second place came the Schneider Electric SA share which closed higher by 0.93% at €51.01 and in the third place came the AXA SA share which inclined 0.87% to settle at €12.11.
DAX Index
German equities retreated today as the benchmark index DAX 30 closed the session lower by 31.55 points or 0.46% at 6856.08. The index started the session at 6914.66 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 6967.14 and its lowest level at 6843.27.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Deutsche Boerse AG share as it plummeted 2.60% to end at €49.77, following is the KS AG share as it shed 1.96% to settle at €37.48, while coming in third is the Infineon Technologies AG share which slumped 1.73% to close at €7.59.
Best performing stocks within the index were the RWE AG share which rallied 1.69% to settle at €34.20, in second place came the Commerzbank AG share which closed higher by 1.45% at €1.89 and in the third place came the Metro AG share which inclined 1.35% to settle at €29.72.
FTSE 100 Index
The British benchmark index ended the day lower to settle at 5871.51 with a loss of 56.40 points or 0.95%. The index started the session at 5927.91 and recorded throughout the day its highest level at 5944.75 and its lowest level at 5871.51.
The worst performing shares in terms of subtracted value for the index were led by the Rio Tinto PLC share as it plummeted 3.93% to end at £3584.00, following is the BHP Billiton PLC share as it shed 3.87% to settle at £2037.50, while coming in third is the Vodafone Group PLC share which slumped 1.74% to close at £169.35.
Best performing stocks within the index were the Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC share which inclined 0.87% to settle at £3480.00, in second place came the ITV PLC share which closed higher by 6.77% at £85.95 and in the third place came the Centrica PLC share which inclined 1.06% to settle at £304.00.
