LONDON (AFP) -
Europe's leading stock exchanges fell on Wednesday after Wall Street had closed lower overnight, dragged down by concern over falling oil prices.
Equities fell "after a significant shift of opinion on Wall Street last night about the benefits of lower oil prices," said CMC Markets dealer Matt Buckland.
He noted that slowing oil prices caused by falling demand "serves as something of a reminder" about the weak global economy.
By late morning trade, London's FTSE 100 index of top shares showed a loss of 1.88 percent at 5,515.20 points.
Nearing the half-way stage on Wednesday, Frankfurt's DAX 30 was down by 0.83 percent to 6,464.37 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 1.33 percent to 4,478.83.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares declined by 1.13 percent to 3,377.84 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended down 0.23 percent on Tuesday as a strong rally lost steam.
Japanese share prices closed up 0.64 percent on Wednesday as investors cheered a weaker yen, which is good for exporters, dealers said.
Oil prices fell on Wednesday as the US government decided to release crude stocks from its strategic reserve after Hurricane Gustav had brought a halt to energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.
They have eased about 25 percent since reaching record levels above 147 dollars in July.
In foreign exchange trading on Wednesday, the euro fell below 1.44 dollars for the first time since January 22 as the market continued to anticipate lower interest rates for the eurozone, dealers said.
Heading the losers board on the London FTSE 100 was Enterprise Inns, which slumped 11.31 percent to 272.50 pence. The pub owner dived after rival Punch Taverns had posted weak earnings, dealers said.
Punch Taverns tumbled 15.86 percent to 266.50 pence on the second tier FTSE 250 index.
Europe's main stock markets had rallied on Tuesday as crude oil prices crumbled and amid the prospect of lower interest rates, while British companies had also benefited from a weaker pound, analysts said.
European investors were meanwhile awaiting decisions on European interest rates due Thursday.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England are both expected to keep their key lending rates at current levels of 4.25 and 5.0 percent respectively. However many economists are forecasting cuts to borrowing costs before the end of 2008 as inflation falls amid cooling oil prices.