By Investors Hub
European shares fell on Wednesday as earnings proved to be a mixed bag and the euro and pound surged against a broadly weaker dollar amid continued political uncertainty in the U.S. Banks and mining stocks led the decliners, offsetting gains in the technology sector.
The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.3 percent at 379.27 in late opening deals after rising 0.6 percent in the previous session.
The German DAX was moving down 0.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 index was losing 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.
Commerzbank shares fell 2 percent after the German lender reported a larger-than-expected second-quarter loss due to high restructuring costs.
Societe Generale tumbled 4.6 percent after the French lender reported lower second-quarter profits and revenues, hit by litigation costs.
Mining giant Rio Tinto fell 2.4 percent in London after its interim underlying profit came in below consensus forecast.
Standard Chartered shares tumbled 4.8 percent after the bank posted improved profits for the first-half, but said it would not resume paying dividends.
RSA Insurance Group lost 2.5 percent. The motor and home insurer gave a cautious outlook after delivering better-than-expected first-half profit.
On the positive side, Apple supplier Dialog Semiconductor jumped 4 percent, AMS climbed nearly 5 percent and STMicroelectronics rallied 3 percent after the iPhone maker delivered surprisingly strong fiscal third-quarter earnings.
Lufthansa advanced 2.6 percent. The German airline’s second-quarter net profit jumped 69 percent, thanks to strong demand and a robust pricing environment.
William Hill soared 12 percent after the bookmaker saw revenue improve 3 percent in its first half.
Dipo Olowookere 
Adedapo Adesanya