European shares fell this evening, led by a drop in shares of Royal Bank of Scotland, which confirmed that it was considering raising extra cash from shareholders.
In Frankfurt, the Dax shed 0.8% to 6,787 and in Paris the CAC fell 1% to 4,910. But London's FTSE ended down just four points at 6,053, despite a 3% fall in RBS shares to 372.5p. Barclays and HBOS also fell more than 3%, but Shell gained 2% to £19.37 as oil prices again hit a record.
In Dublin, the ISEQ finished down 24 points at 6,236. AIB was 35 cent lower at €13.15 in late trading, while CRH fell 50 to €23.78. Food stocks were mostly stronger, with IAWS adding 40 cent to €16.50.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 54 points to 12,796 as disappointing results from Bank of America affected sentiment after strong gains last week. The Nasdaq was two points lower at 2,401. Earlier this morning, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.6% to close at 13,697 - up 220 points - as hopes grew in Asian markets that the worst of the global financial crisis may be over.
