Europe's stock markets fell this evening as investors awaited the first of a wave of big company results due over the next couple of weeks. Financial stocks led the way lower.
London's FTSE closed 47 points (1.1%) lower at 4,140, with RBS down 4.5% to 36.5p and Aviva down 8.5% to 303p. In Paris the CAC lost 1.3% to close at 3,010 and Frankfurt's DAX lost 0.6% to 4,573.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed up 13 points at 2,661. Shares in drinks group C&C gave up earlier gains to end down eight cent at €2.30, despite saying that trading in the first four months of its financial year was ahead of expectations. Most bank shares were weaker, with AIB down 14 cent to €1.44 and Irish life & Permanent off 18 cent at €2.90.
Wall Street markets gave up earlier gains, as weakness in Microsoft shares affected the market after Google announced plans to launch a rival operating system for PCs. The Dow Jones was 23 points lower at 8,141, while the Nasdaq was down nine points at 1,737.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index slumped 227 points (2.3%) to end at 9,421 as investors were shocked by a slide in domestic machinery orders. The Hang Seng lost 141 points to 17,721.
