European Shares Fall on France Downgrade Rumor

European shares extended losses in afternoon trading on Wednesday, led lower by French banks that were hit by rumors that France's triple-A rating may be at risk.

"There is talk of a possible downgrade for France. The market is quite jittery and France seems to be the next one on everyone's radar, hence there are selling in French banks," a London-based trader said.

Credit ratings firm Moody's Investors Service reiterated its triple-A rating for France. That came a day after Standard & Poor's had done the same.

MAIN EUROPEAN MARKETS

.FTSE

5040.58

-124.34

-2.41%

1,134,581,282

.GDAXI

5664.26

-252.82

-4.27%

325,208,539

CAC40

3039.91

-136.28

-4.29%

266,652,251

Societe Generale [SOGN.PA 22.315 -3.70 (-14.22%) ] and BNP Paribas[SOGN.PA 22.315 -3.70 (-14.22%) ] were both down more than 18 percent. Societe Generale declined to comment. Read more