Closing stock market indices

Major stock markets outside the United States ended on Wednesday.
EUROPEAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: European equities closed at their lowest in more than a week, pressured by financial stocks, as market sentiment deteriorated after Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on Spain to negative.
The ratings agency's revised outlook and a warning that Spain faced a risk of a debt downgrade in two years if the government did not take tough action came just one day after Fitch Ratings cut Greek debt to the lowest level in the eurozone on worries over its public finances. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended down 1 percent, the lowest close since November 30.
FRANKFURT STOCKS EXCHANGE: The DAX index ended at 5,647.84 points, down 40.74 or 0.72 percent.
PARIS STOCKS EXCHANGE: The CAC-40 index closed at 3,757.39 points, down 27.91 or 0.74 percent.
ZURICH STOCKS EXCHANGE: The Swiss market index closed at 6,351.71 points, down 48.03 or 0.75 percent.
MILAN STOCKS EXCHANGE: The FT IT All Share index closed at 22,650.15 points, down 182.46 or 0.80 percent.
MELBOURNE STOCKS EXCHANGE: Shares fell 0.7 percent, as investors dumped big miners such as BHP Billiton, as a rebound in the US dollar on Dubai and Greece's debt woes hurt metals prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 32.7 points to 4,637.9, down for the fourth day in a row.
JOHANNESBURG STOCKS EXCHANGE: South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar on the back of fragile sentiment towards high-risk assets and local stocks ended in negative territory for the third day in a row. The All-share index closed at 26,730.06 points, down 260.86 or 0.97 percent. The All Gold index closed at 2,500.94 points, down 16.12 or 0.64 percent, while the Industrial index closed at 20,889.39 points, down 311.07 or 1.47 percent.