LONDON (CNN) - Europe's major bourses suffered losing sessions on Wednesday as tech stocks were hit by profit taking and Wall Street opened lower.
The European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged did nothing to encourage the bourses. But on the currency markets, the euro lifted from an earlier six-month low of 85.67 against the dollar to 86.07.
London's FTSE 100 fell 1.3 percent by the close to 5,897.4, after hitting a 10-week high on Tuesday. Telecom heavyweight Vodafone (VOD) fell 3 percent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from "strong buy" to "outperform".
In Paris, the CAC 40 blue chip index declined 1.1 percent to reach 5,630.74, with index heavyweight France Telecom (PFTE) dropping 1.9 percent.
Frankfurt's electronically traded Xetra Dax dipped 0.8 percent in late trading to 6,217.72, with Europe's third-biggest chipmaker Infineon Technologies (FIFX) the worst performer, dropping 5.1 percent after its chief executive said a third-quarter loss was likely. Electronic component maker Epcos (PEPC) slipped 2 percent.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index fell 1.1 percent and the SMI in Zurich was down 0.1 percent. Milan's MIB30 index fell 0.5 percent.
Montedison was the biggest faller in Milan, down 3.8 percent, after the government said it was determined to thwart Electricite de France's  1 billion investment in Italy's biggest private utility.
In Madrid, the IBEX 35 index bucked the trend, rising 0.1 percent. A market debut for family-owned fashion group Inditex, creator of the Zara chain, saw its shares rise as much as 26 percent. It should soon gain a listing on the main index.
The pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, a broader index of the region's largest stocks, was down 0.8 percent, with the information technology sub-index down 3.5 percent.
In the U.S., profit taking on the Nasdaq composite index forced it 2.4 percent lower to 2,258.20 by mid-morning, while the Dow Jones industrial average lost 126.88 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,130.36.
European tyre makers could benefit from Ford's falling out with Bridgestone, and investors piled into France's Michelin (PML) and Italy's Pirelli, up 3.5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. Analysts said Michelin was in the best position.
In London, the best-performing share was BAE Systems (BA-) , the world's fourth-biggest defence company, up 3.5 percent. The Financial Times said Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates), the biggest aerospace company, was in talks with BAE about a military tanker aircraft joint venture.
French telecom equipment supplier Alcatel (PCGE) was down 5.3 percent as investors feared a successful takeover of U.S. rival Lucent would put a further drag on its share price.
Deutsche Telekom (FDTE) fell 1.1 per cent despite its adjusted first-quarter figures showing its traditional voice business and mobile unit performing strongly.
A pilots' strike in Germany was called off for Thursday as Lufthansa (FLHA) agreed with the union to go to arbitration. Its shares still were down 2.7 percent.
Back in London, Carlton Communications (CCM), Britain's No. 2 terrestrial commercial broadcaster, fell 4.9 percent after saying profits fell as advertising revenues sagged.
Retail conglomerate Kingfisher (KGF) rose 0.5 percent after it surprised the market with first-quarter sales in its B&Q DIY centres growing by nearly 12 percent. 
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