LONDON (MarketWatch)�European stock markets ended lower in a choppy session as losses for banks weighed on sentiment Tuesday and Spanish and Italian bond yields surged on debt concerns.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP �closed down 1.1% at 264.29, after trading as high as 267.62 earlier in the day.
In Spain, the IBEX 35 index XX:IBEX �tumbled 2.7% to 7,824.50, while yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds ES:10YR_ESP �rose 9 basis points to 5.41%.
�One cannot say with any conviction that the euro zone is robust or recovering,� said Stephen Pope, managing partner at Spotlight ideas. He further added that bad news from Spain �traveled to the next in line which from the markets perspective is Italy.�
Unemployment in the Spain rose 0.8% in March to 4.75 million, government figures showed. Separately, Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that there was �no margin for error� with the government�s 2012 budget announced last week. He said Spain�s debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio will likely rise to just over 78% this year from 68.5% in 2011.
Shares of Bankinter SA ES:BKT �fell 5.9%, Banco Santander SA ES:SAN �gave up 4%, while BBVA SA ES:BBVA �< span class="quotePeekContainer">BBVA �shed 4.5%.
Yields were also rising for Italy�s 10-year government bonds IT:10YR_ITA ,�adding 10 basis points to 5.14%. Bond prices move inversely to their yields.
In Milan, the FTSE MIB index XX:FTSEMIB �traded 2% lower at 15,624.23, weighed down by Banca Popolare di Milano SCARL IT:PMI ,�off 6.6%, and Banco Popolare SC IT:BP , down 6.8%.
Gloomy data hit at austerity plans
Dire figures on unemployment and manufacturing activity in the euro-zone's weakest members on Monday highlighted the scale of the currency bloc's economic problems. (Photo: AFP/Getty.)
In the U.S., stocks were mostly lower on Wall Street, pivoting away from gains in the first session of the second quarter. Factory orders for the U.S. rose 1.3% in February, slightly below analysts� estimates, while orders for January were revised down to a 1.1% decline from a prior estimate of a 1.0% drop.
Banks were also lower in France. BNP Paribas SA FR:BNP �gave up 2.8%, Soci�t� G�n�rale SA FR:GLE �lost 3.7%, while Credit Agricol! e SA
And in the U.K., shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC UK:RBS �RBS �declined 3.1% and Barclays PLC UK:BARC �BCS �lost 2.6%.
The FTSE 100 index UK:UKX �was 0.6% off at 5,838.34, further pressured by Compass Group PLC UK:CPG , off 1.8%, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the food-service firm to equalweight from overweight. FTSE 100 gives up gains
Bucking the trend, Cairn Energy PLC UK:CNE added 4% outside London�s main index. The oil and gas producer bought Agora Oil & Gas, a private Norwegian company, for $450 million in shares and cash.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index DX:DAX gave up 1.1% to 6,982.28, as Commerzbank AG DE:CBK �shed 3.4% and Deutsche Bank AG DE:DBK ! �lost 3%.
K+S AG DE:SDF also�weighed on the index, down 1.4% after Nomura Securities downgraded the potash producer to reduce from neutral.
Nomura also downgraded Dutch specialty-chemicals firm Akzo Nobel NV NL:AKZA , down 2.7%, to neutral from buy.
Among notable gainers, Novo Nordisk AS DK:NOVOB , up 2.4%, provided the biggest support in Europe as Bank of America Merrill Lynch added the stock to its Europe 1 list. The Danish firm was also among the biggest gainers on Monday after saying it owns 4.71% of its total share capital, as part of a buyback plan. The Danish OMX Copenhagen 20 index rose 1.3% to 465.15.
Swiss biotech firm Lonza Group AG CH:LONN �added 1.6%. The company said Richard Ridinger has been appointed as new chief executive effective May 1.
In Brussels, drug maker UCB SA BE:UCB �added 1.5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Neupro drug for Parkinson�s disease treatment.
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