European shares slip as region faces 'hardest hour'

Update: European shares fell today - mirroring overnight losses in Asia and the US - on continued concerns about the eurozone debt crisis, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying Europe faces its "hardest hour" since World War II.

London's FTSE, which closed 0.44% lower yesterday, has lost another 35 points to sit at 5,484, while major indices in France and Germany are down more than 1% despite better-then-expected economic growth figures.

The French economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, higher than the 0.3% forecast, the national statistics institute INSEE said. Meanwhile, German economic growth stood at 0.5% in Q3. The nation's Q2 growth was also revised up to 0.3% from an initial estimate of 0.1%.

But the French Cac lost 1.4% to 3,064 in early trading, while the German Dax is 1.2% lower at 5,912.

On Monday, Merkel told her party congress that Europe is "perhaps in its hardest hour since the Second World War." as new governments in Rome and Athens discuss ways to ease the nations' debt burdens.

But she said Germany would emerge stronger from this crisis, just as it did from the 2008 financial downturn.

"Now we must see to it that Europe comes out of today's crisis stronger. It is time for a breakthrough to a new Europe."

Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones closed more than 70 points, or 0.6%, lower at 12,078.

In Asia, Tokyo slipped 0.72%, or 62 points, to 8,541.93, Sydney closed down 0.44% at 4,285.6, while Seoul lost 0.88% at 1,886.12.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong shed more than 1% while Shanghai was also lower.