Weaker European shares were mired yesterday as a wilting dollar slammed greenback-sensitive sectors while Wall Street struggled in early trading to snap a four-day losing streak.
But British music group EMI jumped five per cent to 177 pence after posting better-than-expected results and said it was making headway with a bid to buy Time Warner's recorded music business.
On the downside, Zurich Financial Services fell three per cent after its failure to offer guidance for next year took the gloss off a swing back to a net profit in the third quarter.
By 1506 GMT, the FTSE Eurotop 300 index was off 0.8 per cent at 914 points - its third down day in a row as investors consolidated recent hefty gains that pushed the index to 2003 highs.
The narrower DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index shed 0.7 per cent to 2,565 points.
Investors nervously eyed the dollar sinking to an all-time low against the euro, triggering fears that European companies exporting to the United States will see their markets eroded as euro-priced goods become more expensive.
"It's a very big deal, especially for the Netherlands whereby the top five companies generate more than 50 per cent of their income in the United States," said Lex Werkheim of Eureffect Asset Management in Amsterdam.
"Also, if there is a loss of confidence in the dollar, that does not help the market mood as we are all led by the US economy and the dollar," Werkheim said.
Dutch share trading firm Van der Moolen, retailer Ahold, insurance group ING were all examples of Dutch shares sensitive to the dollar, Werkheim said.
The Dutch blue-chip AEX index was down 1.12 per cent, its falls only matched by Frankfurt, reflecting the dollar exposure of Germany's huge exporting sector.
European sectors such as healthcare, autos and chemicals fell as the greenback slid. UK drug leader GlaxoSmithKline fell 1.8 per cent, while German carmaker Volkswagen shed 2.4 per cent. Top chemical firm BASF of Germany fell 1.5 per cent.
The dollar began tumbling after the United States slapped quotas on Chinese textile imports, fuelling market belief Washington may be willing to use protectionism to support the economy and jobs.