FX.co ★ European Stocks Close Sharply Lower

European stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday as a rebound in energy prices and a surge in bond yields pressured corporate earnings outlooks. The Euro STOXX 50 declined 1.6% to 6,175, while the STOXX Europe 600 retreated 1.1% to 630. Benchmark 10-year government bond yields in Italy climbed 10 basis points and those in France rose 15 basis points, even as German Bund yields were little changed. The divergence reinforced worries about growing fragmentation in eurozone sovereign bond markets. Contagion fears weighed heavily on the banking sector: Deutsche Bank shares slid 5%, and Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas each lost 4%. Industrial heavyweights also came under pressure, with Siemens and Safran down 3% apiece, and Schneider Electric falling 2.3%, extending the previous session’s decline as investors continued to scrutinize its acquisition of PTC.