European equities were lower on Wednesday, in some cases significantly lower on the session.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 1.09 percent to 1,605.06.
In Madrid, the IBEX fell 0.63 percent to 15,058.6, while the Paris CAC-40 was 1.69 percent lower to 5,995.97 and the Dax dropped 1.8 percent to 7,893.61 in Frankfurt.
Carmakers were the worst performers both on the Dax and in Paris.
In Frankfurt, DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) dropped 3.09 percent to €66.51 for the worst performance on the Dax, with BMW (FWB: BMW) right behind it for the second worst of the day as it fell 2.54 percent to €39.07.
Meanwhile in Paris, Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) was the biggest loser, dropping 3.05 percent to €61.69.
Renault (Euronext: RNO) was also lower, falling 2.8 percent to €112.50.
The carmakers were hurt by the strength of the euro, which makes exports more expensive.
Also seeing declines were hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC), which was 2.95 percent lower to €68.10 after it reported low growth in the US.
Industrial gases group Linde (FWB: LIN) was down 2.48 percent to €87.28, while pharmaceuticals giant Bayer (FWB: BAY; NYSE: BAY; TYO: 4863) dropped 2.18 percent to €55.77.
On the other hand, Schering (FWB: SCH) was 0.08 percent higher to €104.27 as the only gainer on the Dax for the day.
There were only two gainers on the day in Paris.
Property group Unibail (Euronext: UL) was up 0.41 percent to €187.25, while drinks group Pernod-Ricard (Euronext: RI) had the best performance of the day on the 40, adding 0.59 percent to €164.59.