BP weighs on European shares
Thursday, 3 June 2010
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters): European shares fell Wednesday, with BP down after the US launched a criminal probe into the Gulf of Mexico disaster and banks slipping on worries over the recovery from the euro zone crisis.
By 0856 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.1 per cent at 991.62 points.
BP lost 2.4 per cent, extending its 13.1 per cent drop in the previous session. The company has lost more than a third of its market value, or about 46 billion pounds ($67 billion), since the crisis began.
The US FBI and other federal agencies are aggressively investigating the spill and "if we find evidence of illegal behaviour, we will be forceful in our response," US Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.
"There was a sharp drop off in the US overnight on the news of the US criminal and civil investigation," said Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index. "We are coming in line with the selloff in the US."
Energy stocks slipped as crude fell 0.9 per cent as the negative sentiment pervaded in the financial markets. BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Cairn Energy were down 1.8 to 3 per cent.
The European index has lost 10.5 per cent since mid-April when fears intensified that a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone could derail the global economic recovery.
By 0856 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.1 per cent at 991.62 points.
BP lost 2.4 per cent, extending its 13.1 per cent drop in the previous session. The company has lost more than a third of its market value, or about 46 billion pounds ($67 billion), since the crisis began.
The US FBI and other federal agencies are aggressively investigating the spill and "if we find evidence of illegal behaviour, we will be forceful in our response," US Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.
"There was a sharp drop off in the US overnight on the news of the US criminal and civil investigation," said Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index. "We are coming in line with the selloff in the US."
Energy stocks slipped as crude fell 0.9 per cent as the negative sentiment pervaded in the financial markets. BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Cairn Energy were down 1.8 to 3 per cent.
The European index has lost 10.5 per cent since mid-April when fears intensified that a sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone could derail the global economic recovery.