LONDON: Stocks were softer across most of the world Wednesday, with sentiment hit by weak oil prices and disappointing results from Disney.
Wall Street eased slightly in early business, dragged lower by a sharp drop in Walt Disney shares, down almost five percent.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index meanwhile was a touch weaker, weighed down also by official data showing that British industrial output grew more weakly than expected in March.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt DAX 30 and the Paris CAC 40 both lost 0.6 percent compared with Tuesday's close.
World oil prices churned lower following recent gains, as Canadian oil companies prepare to restart output after being closed by huge wildfires.
European markets have been "roiled by a downturn in oil prices and tracking a downturn in US equity index futures after an earnings miss from Disney", said analyst Jasper Lawler, at traders CMC Markets.
Strong ticket sales from the latest "Star Wars" film and "Zootopia" helped modestly lift Disney's second-quarter profit, the US giant revealed overnight.
However, revenues from Walt Disney Co.'s closely watched cable television division fell, perturbing investors who have been worried about the prospects for its ESPN network as the traditional cable television model comes under assault.
"The box office hits have not proved enough to offset weaker results from its theme parks and cable TV business," added Lawler.
Asian equities tapered Wednesday after an early rally as nerves returned to trading floors, but Japan's Nikkei hammered out a slight gain.
The day started on a positive note as gains elsewhere -- fuelled by upbeat Chinese inflation data and progress on Greece's debt relief -- provided a healthy buying catalyst after last week's sell-offs.
Tokyo's Nikkei rallied as exporters were boosted by the weaker yen, but tempered its gains as the Japanese unit recovered.
"Asian markets were a mixed bag... This lack of commitment to upside has filtered its way to European markets which all trade lower," noted London Capital Group analyst Brenda Kelly.
Hong Kong was one percent down as mainland shares listed in the city were hit by fears China may not introduce any fresh stimulus for some time after a warning over debt levels by the government mouthpiece People's Daily.
Back in Europe, weaker oil prices weighed on the energy sector because they eat into revenues and profits of oil giants like BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total, with shares in all three companies trading lower.
Financial stocks across the eurozone came under pressure from fresh turbulence in Italian banking stocks amid rekindled fears about bad loans.
Shares in Banco Popolare fell more than 10 percent in Milan after the bank raised provisions for risky loans, while Banco popolare di Milano, which is to merge with Banco Popolare, dropped around eight percent.
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 17,850.10
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 6,155.97
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.6 percent at 9,983.87
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,313.64
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 2,955.34
Tokyo: Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 16,579.01 (close)
Shanghai - composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 2,837.04 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.0 percent at 20,038.90 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1422 from $1.1372 Tuesday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.52 yen from 109.27 yen
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