Global Stocks

European stocks lost ground Tuesday as big decliners such as Italian banks and Swiss chip maker AMS AG offset an encouraging reading on German business sentiment. Italian banks also were among the big losers, as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA said it would cut 2,600 jobs, shutter 500 branches and shed businesses as part of a make-or-break effort to persuade skeptical investors to buy into a big capital increase.

U.S. stocks finished lower on Tuesday, giving back some of the previous day's advance as worries about a lackluster spate of earnings and a slip in a reading of consumer confidence weighed on market sentiment. A drop in the price of oil below $50 a barrel, lingering uncertainty about the U.S. presidential election and growing expectations of a rate increase by the Federal Reserve, also contributed to the downbeat mood.

Shares in Asia were broadly lower early Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street after a spate of disappointing earnings reports and weaker-than-expected economic data. Australia's third quarter consumer price index, released early Wednesday, rose 0.7% from the second quarter, beating expectations of a 0.5% gain. Year-over-year, the nation's third-quarter CPI increased 1.3%, exceeding a consensus forecast of a 1.1% gain. The Australian currency gained 0.6% against the U.S. dollar following the data release, weighing on exporters, among others.