September 24) - European shares fell on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's overnight decline. Financial and banking stocks led early losses, but gains in some defense-related companies helped limit losses.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5 percent to 552.5 points by 0714 GMT. Most European bourses also declined, with Italy's FTSE MIB posting the biggest losses.
Banking shares fell 0.9 percent, with Germany's Deutsche Bank, Britain's Barclays, France's Societe Generale, and Denmark's Sydbank all falling by more than 1 percent.
European stocks decline due to losses in financial companies and banks.
