Stock indices closed lower on comments by the European Central Bank's Governing Council Member Ewald Nowotny. He expressed concerns about the health of the Eurozone's economy.

The cut of Italy's credit rating by S&P weighed on stocks and weak Chinese trade data also weighed on markets. S&P downgraded Italy's credit rating to BBB- from BBB late on Friday.

China's imports fell 6.7% in November, after a 4.6% rise in October. Exports climbed 4.7% in November, after 11.6% gain in October.

The Sentix investor confidence index for the Eurozone increased to -2.5 in December from -11.9 in November. Analysts had expected the index to climb to -9.9.

German industrial production rose 0.2% in October, in line with expectations, after a 1.1% gain in September. September's figure was revised down from a 1.4% increase.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,672.15 -70.69 -1.05%

DAX 10,014.99 -72.13 -0.72%

CAC 40 4,375.48 -44.00 -1.00%