European shares have fallen sharply¹, hit by disappointing company results and US economic data.

受令人失望的公司业绩和美国经济的影响，欧洲股份大幅下跌。

European shares saw big rises earlier in the month

Fallers in the financial sector² were led by Prudential, which dropped 9.8% after reporting a 22% decline³ in UK sales between July and September.

The German software company SAP was hardest hit in Frankfurt, dropping 7.7% after cutting its sales outlook.

London's FTSE 100 dropped 2.32%, the Dax in Frankfurt fell 2.46% and in Paris the CAC 40 was down 2.14%.

Mining dip

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.21% after news that the annual rate of US new home sales had fallen unexpectedly in September.

But trading was nervous ahead of Thursday's key US economic growth figures for the third quarter of the year.

In London, mining shares were also a big drag on the market as lower metals prices reflected doubts about the economic recovery.

Xstrata fell 9.4%, Kazakhmys dropped 9.1% and Lonmin lost 8.4%.

Earlier in the day in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down 1.4%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.8% and India's Sensex fell 0.6%.