(MENAFN- AFP) World stock markets mostly retreated Wednesday, weighed down by miners' shares and oil prices, while Apple dragged Wall Street lower, traders said.
After declines for the bulk of Asia's stock markets, Europe's top indices were showing losses of up to 1.2 percent compared with Tuesday's closing levels.
The heaviest faller on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was miner Antofagasta, which had shed 5.0 percent at 513.50 pence in mid afternoon trading.
David Cheetham, market analyst at XTB trading group, said shares in copper mining company Antofagasta had plummeted "after the release of a downbeat production update".
"The release warned that the firm's output will be close to the lower end of its predicted range at the end of the year and has clearly worried investors."
In earlier Asian trading hours, energy firms were hit by sinking oil prices as fears that a planned output cut by major producers will unravel were fanned by a report Russia would not take part.
Crude had been in the ascendancy since last month when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and later Moscow, agreed to output cuts in a bid to support prices.
But oil prices fell more than one percent Tuesday as the Russia-based Interfax news agency said the country's envoy at OPEC, Vladimir Voronkov, had said output cuts are not ''an option for us''.
Oil prices were falling further Wednesday ahead of US energy inventory data.
The report comes days after key OPEC member Iraq said it should be exempted from the final deal as it was fighting a war against the Islamic State group.
"They say talk is cheap and OPEC appears to be approaching the limits of its ability to jawbone oil higher without something concrete to put on the table," Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.
Experts at Mirabaud Securities Geneva said doubts about the future price of oil after the comments had started to unsettle investors.
Analysts also said that dealers were reacting to a slew of company earnings reports in Europe and the US.
US stocks opened lower, with Apple -- the world's biggest company by market capitalisation -- falling 4 percent after posting an earnings decline due to falling iPhone sales.
Apple earnings plunged 19 percent in the fourth quarter to $9 billion, overshadowing better-than-expected results from Boeing and food giant Mondelez.
"US equities are moving lower in early action, with crude oil prices continuing to drop to pressure the energy sector, while Dow member Apple's quarterly revenue performance is pressuring its shares and add to the mixed start to earnings season," analysts at Charles Schwab said in an investors' note.
- Key figures around 1345 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.2 percent at 6,931.68 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 1.0 percent at 10,654.14
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 4,512.96
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,063.93
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 18,096.40
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 17,391.84 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 1.0 percent at 23,325.43 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,116.31 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP to $1.0938 from $1.0887 Tuesday
Dollar/yen: DOWN to 104.16 yen from 104.22 yen
Pound/dollar: UP to $1.2232 from $1.2186
Euro/pound: UP to 89.47 pence from 89.34 pence
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 94 cents at $49.02 per barrel
Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN 94 cents at $49.85
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