Europe Shares Pare Losses after US New Home Sales

The pace of sales fell to an annual rate of 590,000 from an upwardly revised rate of 601,000 in January.

European stocks pared losses on Wednesday after data showed sales of new single-family U.S. homes fell in February but not by as much as some had expected.

The pace of sales fell to an annual rate of 590,000 from an upwardly revised rate of 601,000 in January and against expectations for a fall to a 580,000 rate.

At 1408 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.6 percent at 1,258.02, having traded around 1,256.12 points right before the data was released.

European shares had been under pressure through the session, with banks down and miner Xstrata falling sharply after bid talks with Brazil's Vale broke down.