Major European stock markets closed in negative territory for the second straight session, driven down by falling record sales recorded by the new homes in the U.S. in May, which has increased investors' fears about a slowdown the world economic recovery.
Do not arriving during the session to surpass 3,700 points, the Paris Stock Exchange finished at 3,641.79 points, down 1.71% while the index of key European values moved closer to a technical threshold 1026-1027 important points.
With the end of a tax credit related to real estate, sales of new homes in the U.S. fell to 300,000, a record low in annualized terms, against 446 000 (revised 504000) in April and 410 .000 expected by economists.
Bank stocks were among the most contested on Wednesday, still handicapped by the decision of Fitch lowered the rating of a level of BNP Paribas, "AA-". The Stoxx European banking sector lost 1.03%, while BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Barclays have yielded between 1.42 and 3.2%.