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European shares hit a three-week closing low on Wednesday, hurt by disappointing earnings from Spain's Banco Santander and Germany's SAP and on data showing U.S. new home sales unexpectedly fell in September.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 1.8 percent to a provisional close of 981.65 points, its lowest close since Oct. 5.
The European benchmark is still up more than 52 percent from its lifetime low of March 9.
Banks were among those taking the most points off the index. Banco Santander, the eurozone's biggest bank by market value, fell 3.9 percent after it posted a 2.8 percent fall in nine-month net profit.
BNP Paribas, HSBC [HSBA Loading... ()] and UBS fell between 1.3 and 3.8 percent.
Ireland's two main banks Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland plunged 11.9 and 25 percent respectively on uncertainty over Dublin's bank rescue measures.
"People have put a bit more money back into the defensives, the cheaper end of the market," said Philip Lawlor, chief portfolio strategist at Nomura, in London.
"There isn't going to be any double-dip. The market just got a bit ahead of itself. Valuations went from looking relatively cheap to looking relatively expensive," Lawlor said.
SAP [SAP
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] fell 7.7 percent, after the company cut its sales outlook on weakness in emerging markets and in Japan, leaving investors wondering where the firm will attract new buyers for its high-end software from a client base still keeping costs in check.
Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes unexpectedly tumbled 3.6 percent in September in their first drop since March, but the inventory of new homes available at the end of the month shrank to the smallest in 27 years, government data showed.
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Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes