European shares at a 6-week low
EUROPEAN shares fell to their lowest close in nearly six weeks yesterday, with miners weaker on a gloomier economic outlook and volumes thin as Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday.
A rise for BP helped stem losses for major indexes.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares fell 0.3 per cent to 966.52 points, the lowest close since May 25. Volume was less than half the 90-day average.
The index lost 4.3 per cent last week, weighed down by persistent worries over the pace of global economic recovery, and is down more than 13 per cent from a mid-April peak. Worries of a double-dip recession returned to the fore following poor US data.
Growth in the services sector in China, Britain and the Eurozone also slipped in June, data showed, supporting the view that emerging and developed economies are set to cool off through the second half of the year.
Mining stocks Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, were down between 1.8 and 2.2 per cent.