Most European markets saw declines for the second session in a row on Wednesday.
The major exception was Madrid’s IBEX, which added 0.16 percent to 14,937.7.
In Paris, the CAC-40 dropped 1.19 percent to 5,837.11, while the Dax was 1.46 percent lower to 7,692.55 in Frankfurt.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.92 percent to 1,571.04.
The biggest decliners on the day were in the semiconductors and engineering sectors.
Engineering group Siemens (FWB: SIE; NYSE: SI) was down 5.98 percent to €99.34 in Frankfurt after it sold its auto parts unit for a price that was lower than had been anticipated and said at the same time that it will purchase American medical diagnostic products manufacturer Dade Behring Holdings (NAS: DADE) for $7 billion, a price analysts say is too high.
Siemens’ decline came even though it reported that its net income was up by 54 percent in its fiscal third quarter from the same period last year.
In Paris, meanwhile, STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) dropped 6.42 percent to €12.83 after it reported losses for the quarter.
The biggest winner on the Dax was Fresenius Medical Care (FWB: FREG), which added 1.68 percent to €35.13 on news that the United States Congress is debating whether to expand Medicare dialysis coverage for senior citizens from 30 months to 42 months.
Meanwhile, media group Vivendi (Euronext: VIV) was the best performer on the CAC-40 with a gain of 1.51 percent to €32.27.
Carmakers were mixed on the session.
In Frankfurt, DaimlerChrysler (FWB: DCX; NYSE: DCX; TYO: 7663) added 1.81 percent to €67.15 after it reported profits that were higher than expected from its Mercedes unit.
On the other hand, Renault (Euronext: RNO) dropped 3.51 percent to €108.10 while Peugeot (Euronext: UG; OTC: PEUGY) fell 5.93 percent to €61.70 on profit-taking.
Truck manufacturer Man (FWB: EDF1) was also lower, dropping 2.45 percent to €106.07.