Feb 7 (Reuters) - European shares ended lower on Wednesday as weakness in banking shares weighed, while losses in energy heavyweights Equinor and TotalEnergies following corporate updates only compounded the fall.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab closed 0.3% lower, with shares in Spain (.IBEX), opens new tab lagging regional peers, down 1.2%.
Equinor (EQNR.OL), opens new tab shed 7.8% after the Norwegian oil and gas producer said it would cut its overall cash returns to shareholders this year by $3 billion.
TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab also slipped 3.2% after the French group reported a bigger-than-expected decline in its adjusted income for the fourth quarter.
The Bank sector (.SX7P), opens new tab dipped 0.9%, with UBS (UBSG.S), opens new tab losing 2.7% after at least two brokerages reduced their price target on the Swiss lender.
Keeping steep losses at bay, technology (.SX8P), opens new tab continued its recent strong run, advancing 0.7%, taking its streak of daily gains to six.
The automobile sector (.SXAP), opens new tab was also amongst top gainers, with a 0.5% increase helmed by Italian automaker Stellantis' (STLAM.MI), opens new tab 1.1% jump to a record high during the day.
TeamViewer (TMV.DE), opens new tab jumped 5.4% after the German software developer reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.
Vestas (VWS.CO), opens new tab advanced 6.4% after the Danish wind turbine maker beat fourth-quarter operating earnings forecasts.
On the day's data front, German industrial production fell more than expected in December, marking the seventh monthly decline in a row.
"All told, we remain of the view that high energy costs and weak domestic and external demand will cause German industrial output to decline further in 2024," said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
"This is one of the reasons why we expect the German economy to stagnate this year."
Meanwhile, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel told the Financial Times that the central bank must be patient with cutting interest rates as inflation could flare up again and recent data confirm fears that the 'last mile' of getting price growth down will be the hardest.
Yields across government bonds in Europe were largely stable on Wednesday.
Among other movers, DHL (DHLn.DE), opens new tab lost 5.2% after Germany's state-owned KfW bank cut its stake in the German logistics group.
Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST), opens new tab rose 5.1% after the Swedish lender proposed a higher-than-expected dividend.
British supermarket group Sainsbury's (SBRY.L), opens new tab set a new cost savings target of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) over three years and promised to boost returns for shareholders. Its shares, however, fell 6.1%.
Finnish utility Fortum (FORTUM.HE), opens new tab lost 5.0% after reporting a bigger-than-expected drop in October-December comparable operating profit.
Reporting by Shristi Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Alexandra Hudson
