European stocks experienced a downturn on Wednesday as investors grew increasingly anxious about declining growth rates in the U.S. and China.
In the U.S., economic activity within the manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth consecutive month in August and the 21st time in the past 22 months, raising alarms about a potential recession in the world’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, a private survey revealed that growth in China's services sector slowed in August despite the peak summer travel season.
On a brighter note, the euro area saw an acceleration in private sector economic growth in August, driven by a faster increase in services activity.
HCOB's composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for eurozone countries, compiled by S&P Global, improved to 51.0 in August from 50.0 in July.
Similarly, in the U.K., service sector activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months, according to final survey data from S&P Global. The corresponding index rose to 53.7 in August from 52.5 in the previous month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down by a little over 1 percent, at 514.58, following a 1 percent decline on Tuesday.
Germany's DAX dipped 0.7 percent, France's CAC 40 fell 0.8 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down by 0.7 percent.
Semiconductor companies were the most significant losers. ASML Holdings fell by 5.3 percent, Infineon lost 3.2 percent, and STMicroelectronics declined 2.3 percent following reports that the U.S. Justice Department issued a subpoena to Nvidia in an expanding antitrust investigation.
Swedish telecom firm Telia's shares dropped more than 1 percent after announcing a restructuring program.
Commerzbank AG shares fell by 2.2 percent after a Bloomberg report suggested that the German government plans to sell a stake of 3 to 5 percent in the bank.
Energy stocks in London also traded lower as oil prices continued their steep decline from Tuesday due to demand concerns. BP Plc fell by 0.7 percent, and Shell dropped by 1.1 percent.
Housebuilder Barratt Developments saw its shares decline by 2 percent following a 75 percent drop in its profits for the year ending in June.
Lastly, insurer Direct Line Insurance fell by 1.2 percent after posting first-half results that were below expectations.
