European shares were lower in choppy trade on Thursday, with BMW falling to a two-year low and dragging the whole auto sector into the red amid renewed concerns over a diesel car pollution scandal.
The declines came as index futures indicated a lower open on Wall Street and followed a drop in Asia after more dour economic data in China and the United States piled pressure on equities.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down by 1.3 percent by midday, while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 1.2 percent.
“The markets have been very volatile of late, but the general trend is still down. The China slowdown is not helping,” said Berkeley Futures associate director Richard Griffiths.
