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Paris - World markets took fright on Wednesday at new US data underscoring the fragile state of the global economy, sending European equities tumbling.
Wall Street opened sharply lower after the Commerce Department reported US retail sales dropped 0.3% in September, the first drop in seven months, raising concerns even US growth may catch the cold that has hit Europe.
In Europe, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index lost 1.46% to 6 299.24 points in afternoon deals, with Shire Pharmaceutical shares devastated by US giant AbbVie saying it would review its $54bn takeover bid.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 1.92% to 8 655.68 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 sank 3.32% to 3 955.48 points, falling below the 4 000 mark for the first time since the summer of 2013.
Wall Street also fell sharply at the open on the retail sales data, but quickly cut the losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,180.17 points, down 0.83 percent after 40 minutes of trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.84 percent to 1,862.33 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.64% at 4 201.54.
"The very bad US figures are just adding to all the bad news we've had in Europe over the past few weeks," said Saxo Banque analyst Andrea Tueni.
Other European markets followed the downward trend in mid-afternoon with Milan falling 3.39%, Madrid off 2.87%, and the Athens exchange's main index closing down 6.25 percent over investors' concerns about plans to end its IMF programme early.
Eurozone countries were scheduled to submit their budgets to Brussels on Wednesday with Paris heading for a showdown over its 2015 budget which exceeds the EU deficit ceiling with an expected shortfall of 4.3% of annual economic output.
In foreign exchange deals, the euro rose to $1.2818 from $1.2663 late on Tuesday in New York, as investors interpreted the retail sales slowdown as pushing back the likely date of a interest rate hike from the US Fed.
The euro rose to 80.02 British pence from 79.58 pence late on Tuesday, while the pound climbed to $1.6020 from $1.5912.
The price of gold fell to $1 223.50 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from $1 234.75.
Sentiment turned sour early Wednesday in Europe after AbbVie announced overnight that it has decided to reconsider its Shire takeover deal, citing a US crackdown on tax inversions.
The new US Treasury rules are designed to curb so-called tax inversion deals, in which US companies merge with foreign businesses to relocate in a lower tax address. The loophole had threatened to slash the government's income.
Shire's share price plunged 24.82% to 3 864 pence in mid-afternoon trading in London.
"News that AbbVie may not proceed with the Shire merger has sent the pharmaceuticals sector lower, but Shire is in an absolute tailspin," said Valutrades analyst Joao Monteiro.
"Combining this with woes in the petrochemicals sector, as crude prices show no signs of finding a floor, and many of London's largest stocks are sporting some healthy losses already."
Oil prices also hit fresh multi-year lows on Wednesday as traders eyed plentiful crude supplies and demand fears arising from the weak global economic outlook.
Brent crude tumbled to $83.37 per barrel - the lowest level since November 24 2010.
In London, Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell saw its 'A' share price drop 1.52% to 2 141 pence and peer BP shed 1.15% to 421.75 pence.
And in Paris, shares in French oil and gas group Total slid 3.17% to 43.350 euros.
Asian stock markets rose Wednesday, with bargain-hunters providing some lift after recent losses while data showing Chinese inflation at a five-year low raised hopes for fresh economy-boosting measures from Beijing.
They were reacting to Wall Street's rally on Tuesday thanks to some solid earnings reports.
Tokyo bounced back 0.92% after five days of losses, helped by a weaker yen which boosts exporters, while Shanghai won 0.60% and Hong Kong climbed 0.40%.
A slew of weak figures out of China, Japan and the eurozone have fanned worries about the global outlook and sent investors running for the door in recent weeks, despite the US economy showing healthy growth.
