ROME: European shares ended nearly two percent lower on Wednesday after a volatile session, hit by a late drop in Syngenta after Monsanto dropped its offer for the company.
Stocks remain highly sensitive to fears over Chinese growth which have wreaked havoc in markets for days, but benchmark indexes closed above session lows on an early Wall Street rally and hopes of monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank.
Syngenta fell 18.2 percent after U.S. agribusiness leader Monsanto gave up trying to buy it.
The Swiss company was the top faller on the FTSEurofirst 300 index and in the STOXX 600 Chemicals sector, which fell 3.4 percent.
Basic resources stocks closed down 2.6 percent as copper fell nearly 3 percent.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 1.9 percent at 1,380.88 by the close, having fallen as much as 2.8 percent, buoyed somewhat by a strong start to trading on Wall Street.
Stocks were also supported after an ECB official said that commodity price falls put the bank’s inflation target at risk, and that it was ready to act if needed.
The FTSEurofirst, which risks posting its biggest monthly loss in seven years, suffered its worst one-day drop since November 2008 on Monday, and rallied in the following session after a Chinese interest rate cut boosted markets.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/26/markets-stocks-europe-idUSL5N1113S920150826
