Europe Markets Europe Markets Overview

A sharp fall on the Milan stock market hit European shares on Thursday, with uncertainty over this weekend's Italian elections.

European shares closed lower on Wednesday following varied earning reports. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 Index moved in-and-out of the red in a choppy day of trading.

European shares rallied on Tuesday, with stronger than expected German sentiment data prompting investors to return to economically sensitive sectors like autos and technology.

European shares closed mixed on Monday after weakness in mining stocks was offset by gains in sectors such as utilities and real estate.

European shares nudged lower on Friday, though strategists reckoned that any dips in the equity markets should be seen as a buying opportunity.

European shares ended lower on Thursday after investor sentiment was hit by weak regional growth data.

European shares extended gains to close higher on Wednesday, bolstered by a strong open on Wall Street.

UK banks led European shares higher on Tuesday after Britain's third biggest lender, Barclays, unveiled swingeing cost cuts and a strategic overhaul.

European shares closed lower on Monday as sharp falls in Danish pharma group Novo Nordisk outweighed rallies in rival Sanofi and Dutch retailer Ahold.

Rebounding banks helped European shares recover on Friday after data pointing to a potentially stronger recovery in global growth.

European shares closed lower after choppy trading on Thursday, tracking falls on the U.S. equity markets.

Euro zone equities sank to two-month lows on Wednesday, with investors locking in profits on a half-year rally.

European shares rose on Tuesday as signs of economic recovery in the euro zone helped soothe investors' worries a day after the return of political risks in Spain and Italy sparked a selloff in stocks.

European shares suffered steep falls on Monday as mounting political uncertainty in the peripheral euro zone prompted investors to lock in profits on indexes trading close to multi-year highs.

European shares inched up on Friday, as investors took advantage of the past two sessions' losses to snap up equities more cheaply, reassured by a run of solid data from China, Europe and the United States.

European shares pared some of the losses on Thursday, after a series of earnings across the continent weighed on market sentiment.

European shares suffered their biggest daily drop this month after gloomy earnings and weak U.S. economic data hit sentiment on Wednesday and left some positioning for further falls in the near-term.

European equities scaled fresh two-year highs on Tuesday, boosted by miners, as optimism about economic recovery gained momentum following encouraging U.S. home price data and comments over growth in top metals consumer China.

European equities touched fresh multi-month peaks on Monday, with technical charts pointing to a continued slow grind higher.