European shares fell on Wednesday, tracking a slide in leading U.S. stock market indexes after higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data sparked concerns that the Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates, according to Reuters. Disappointing quarterly reports from miner Anglo American and brewer Heineken outweighed rallies in banks, with ABN Amro up after an investor demanded its break up, and Alliance & Leicester up on takeover speculation. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.66 percent lower at 1,534.74 points, narrowing this year's advance to 3.5 percent. Credit Suisse Asset Management in Germany said it had slightly reduced its equities exposure after last month's strong returns. In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.5 percent lower as the European trading day ended. The broader S&P 500 was down 0.3 percent. U.S. consumer prices rose by a higher-than-expected 0.2 percent month-on-month in January, raising concerns that the Fed might need to tighten monetary policy. "With the yearly rate at 2.7 percent, it is not time for the Fed to sound the all-clear on inflation," UniCredit said in a note. The U.S. data aggravated a slide in European shares started by Anglo American, which ended 2.5 percent lower after its profit came in at the bottom end of forecasts. "The results, commentary on restructuring, and buyback are just about on track, but no better," Numis Securities said. "We continue to believe the upside from further restructuring is factored into the share price and that an additional bid premium of 10-15 percent has also been factored in," Numis Securities said in a note. Shares in Heineken fell 3.9 percent, hit by fears over rising costs.
