European stocks slid the most in nine weeks after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration will hold Syria accountable for using chemical weapons against its own people.

The Stoxx 600 slid 1.6 percent to 299.51 at 4:30 p.m. in London. The equity benchmark has still rallied 8.6 percent from this year’s low on June 24 as the European Central Bank said that interest rates will remain low for an extended period. The Stoxx 600 fell yesterday after Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Liberty party threatened to withdraw its support from Italy’s coalition government if the country’s Senate votes to remove the billionaire former prime minister. The senators will discuss Berlusconi’s case from Sept. 9.

The Federal Reserve holds its next meeting on Sept. 17-18. The central bank will decide to reduce its $85 billion of monthly asset purchases at the meeting, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg on Aug. 9-13. Secretary of State Kerry denounced an attack on a suburb of Damascus last week, saying it required a response against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

National benchmark indexes declined in every western-European market today.

FTSE 100 6,440.97 -51.13 -0.79% CAC 40 3,968.73 -98.40 -2.42% DAX 8,242.56 -192.59 -2.28%  

Renault and Porsche fell 4.7 percent to 56.45 euros and 4.1 percent to 64.68 euros, respectively. The preferred shares of Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker, slid 3.2 percent to 176.35 euros. Daimler AG, the third-biggest maker of luxury vehicles, slipped 4.8 percent to 52.89 euros. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the biggest, decreased 3.2 percent to 73 euros.

UniCredit SpA (UCG) and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Italy’s two largest lenders, dropped 4.2 percent to 4.23 euros and 4.4 percent to 1.45 euros, respectively. The yield on benchmark 10-year Italian bonds climbed seven basis points to 4.45 percent. Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s two biggest banks, slid 3.7 percent to 5.41 euros and 3.7 percent to 7.25 euros, respectively. The yield on 10-year Spanish debt rose four basis points to 4.50 percent.

Antofagasta Plc retreated 3.3 percent to 884.5 pence. The copper producer controlled by Chile’s Luksic family said in a statement that net income declined to $395 million from $646.1 million a year earlier. Sales (ANTO) slipped 12 percent to $2.78 billion in the six months through June as metal prices declined.

ThyssenKrupp AG fell 3.1 percent to 15.82 euros. Nomura Holdings Inc. downgraded Germany’s largest steelmaker to neutral from buy. The brokerage said that the shares will probably not rally because the Brazilian real has weakened against the euro. ThyssenKrupp’s Steel Americas unit owns a steel mill in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

Fresnillo Plc, a producer of gold and silver, surged 7.1 percent to 1,310 pence, its highest price since April, as precious metals rose. Randgold Resources Ltd. gained 4.1 percent to 5,335 pence.

U.S. stock-index futures fell as tension grew over possible military action in Syria and investors awaited data that may show consumer confidence fell.

Global Stock:

Nikkei 13,542.37 -93.91 -0.69%

Hang Seng 21,874.77 -130.55 -0.59%

Shanghai Composite 2,103.57 +7.09 +0.34%

FTSE 6,437.41 -54.69 -0.84%

CAC 3,982.76 -84.37 -2.07%

DAX 8,259.94 -175.21 -2.08%

Crude Oil $108.12 +2.08%

Gold $1418.10 +1.79%

European stocks slid the most in a week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama administration will hold Syria accountable for using chemical weapons. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also fell.

Kerry denounced an attack on a suburb of Damascus last week, saying it required a response against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In Germany, a report from showed that business confidence rose for a fourth month in August. The Ifo institute’s business-climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, climbed to 107.5 from 106.2 in July. That exceeded the median estimate of 107 in a survey of economists.

Aker Solutions lost 1.4 percent to 89.35 kroner. The oil-services group controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke posted quarterly earnings of 0.44 kroner per share, missing the average analyst estimate of 0.728 kroner apiece.

ThyssenKrupp fell 3.2 percent to 15.81 euros. Nomura downgraded Germany’s largest steelmaker to neutral from buy. The brokerage said that the shares will probably not rally because the Brazilian real has depreciated against the euro. ThyssenKrupp’s Steel Americas unit owns a steel mill in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro.

Peugeot gained 2.7 percent to 11.66 euros. UBS upgraded the shares to buy from neutral, citing stabilizing volume in Europe and faster-than-expected restructuring.

FTSE 100 6,455.91 -36.19 -0.56%

CAC 40 4,013.48 -53.65 -1.32%

DAX 8,318.32 -116.83 -1.39%

Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index poised to snap a two-day gain, as the U.S. vows to hold Syria’s government liable for deadly chemical weapons attacks on its people, damping investors’ risk appetite.

Nikkei 225 13,542.37 -93.91 -0.69%

Hang Seng 21,927.89 -77.43 -0.35%

S&P/ASX 200 5,141.22 +5.81 +0.11%

Shanghai Composite 2,103.57 +7.09 +0.34%

Billabong International Ltd., an Australian surfwear company, slumped 5.3 percent after it posted a loss more than three times its market value and said its core brand was worthless.

ENN Energy Holdings Ltd., an operator of gas pipelines, slumped 5.8 percent in Hong Kong after its first-half net income missed estimates.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. jumped 12 percent after the government said it would take over the handling of radioactive water spills at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

Nikkei 225 -0,18 -24,27 13,636.28%

Hang Seng 22,005.32 141,81 0,65%

S & P / ASX 200 5,135.4 12,04 0,24%

Shanghai Composite 2,096.47 +39.02 +1.90%

FTSE 100 6,492.1 +45.23 +0.70%

CAC 40 4,067.13 -2.34 -0.06%

DAX 8,435.15 +18.16 +0.22%

Dow -60.67 14,949.84 -0.40%

Nasdaq -0.43 3,657.36 -0.01%

S&P -6.33 1,657.17 -0.38%