By Sarah Turner and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares ended lower Thursday, as negative sentiment on Wall Street spilled across the Atlantic, leading traders to worry about economic growth and shrug off mostly positive earnings reports.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 263.67, +1.34, +0.51%) fell 0.4% to 256.26, pivoting away from earlier gains that saw the benchmark hit an intraday high of 259.57.
"There is no real news story behind the late sell-off and so one would think that with the main European indices nearing resistance levels, investors have been happy to cash their gains in at these levels," said Giles Watts, head of equities at City Index.
Volumes are thin in the summer months and trading could become more volatile, despite what have been strong corporate earnings, he said.
Germany's DAX index /quotes/comstock/30p!dax (DX:DAX 6,191, +27.00, +0.44%) fell 0.7% to 6,134.70, led lower by Deutsche Lufthansa /quotes/comstock/11e!flha (DE:LHA 13.05, +0.14, +1.08%) , shares of which dropped 4.5%.
The airline reported a first-half net loss of 104 million euros, as a pilots' strike and the regional airspace lockdown after a volcano erupted in Iceland and spewed clouds of ash took their toll.
Shares of Siemens AG /quotes/comstock/11e!fsie (DE:SIE 75.77, +0.42, +0.56%) also fell, down 3.2%, as investors shrugged off the German conglomerate's strong profit growth and a surge in orders.
News Hub: Glum Fed report weighs on stocks
Mike Reid discusses how the glum Beige Book report from the Federal Reserve weighed down stocks.
On the positive side, Merck KGaA /quotes/comstock/11e!fmrk (DE:MRK 71.61, -0.18, -0.25%) shares climbed 4.4%.
The German pharmaceutical and chemical firm announced a better-than-forecast 69% rise in second-quarter net profit and also lifted its outlook.
Finally, Volkswagen /quotes/comstock/11e!fvow3 (DE:VOW3 84.69, +1.34, +1.61%) shares rose 2.6%. The automotive giant said first-half profit surged on strong demand for its models as well as cost cutting and favorable exchange rates. Read more on Volkswagen.
In France, the CAC-40 index /quotes/comstock/30t!i:px1 (FR:PX1 3,700, +22.31, +0.61%) fell 0.5% to 3,651.91.
Shares of France Telecom /quotes/comstock/24s!e:fte (FR:FTE 16.22, -0.04, -0.25%) /quotes/comstock/13*!fte/quotes/nls/fte (FTE 20.58, +0.21, +1.03%) shot up 5.5%. The firm's first-half net income climbed to €3.7 billion from €2.6 billion.
Also in the sector, Telefonica /quotes/comstock/06x!ctef (ES:TEF 17.92, -0.01, -0.03%) /quotes/comstock/13*!tef/quotes/nls/tef (TEF 68.16, +0.46, +0.68%) shares gained 3.2%. The Spanish carrier reported second-quarter net income rose 16% to €2.12 billion. Read more on Telefonica results.
"Earnings season has been so far better than expected both for earnings and revenue. As well, guidance from a number of bellwethers has been good," said Bernard McAlinden, strategist at NCB Stockbrokers.
AstraZeneca gains after results
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index /quotes/comstock/23i!i:ukx (UK:UKX 5,475, +45.63, +0.84%) edged down 0.1% to 5,313.95.
More Europe Markets
| Sept. 9, 2010 | Europe stocks turn higher, led by banks, miners | |
| Sept. 8, 2010 | European markets end higher; BP in focus | |
| Sept. 7, 2010 | Banks drag European markets to lower close | |
| Sept. 6, 2010 | Utilities help push European markets higher | |
| Sept. 3, 2010 | European stocks rally in wake of jobs data |
Chuck Jaffe
On Mutual Funds