European shares end lower as banks, techs weigh

European shares ended lower yesterday, dragged down by losses in technology and banking stocks amid concern about higher interest rates.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.53 per cent lower at 1,574.07 points after breaking a five-day losing streak in the last session.

"This is still a controlled move and not yet a correction," Boris Boehm, head of equity fund management at Nordinvest, said, adding that the market had been overbought.

Britain's FTSE 100 ended 0.72 per cent lower, France's CAC 40 was down 0.71 per cent and Germany's DAX closed 0.36 per cent lower.

Investors were still concerned about higher borrowing costs as they feared central banks could raise interest rates to cap inflation.