In other stock news, shares of Alcatel-Lucent finished around 15 percent lower after Nokia confirmed it planned to buy the Franco-American telecom company for 15.6 billion euros ($16.6 billion). This reversed a similar-sized rally on Tuesday after "advanced" deal talks were announced.
Media reports suggested Alcatel shareholders were disappointed because they had hoped for a part-cash offer. S&P Capital IQ cut its rating on Alcatel to "hold" from "buy."
Nokia shares rallied as much as 2 percent, before slipping to close around 1.5 percent lower.
Read MoreNokia confident Alcatel buy will get green light
Ireland's Smurfit Kappa slipped around 2.7 percent after the paper manufacturer announced it was acquiring the U.K.'s Inspirepac.
Shares of JD Sports shot up over 5 percent after the U.K. fashion retailer announced a jump in profits; Burberry shares rose up to 2.6 percent after a solid trading update on Wednesday.
Danone shares rose over 2 percent after the French food manufacturer released sales figures for its first quarter that beat expectations.