Britain's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40, and Germany's Dax are all down by just under 1%.
Earlier, we learned that France's private sector economy may have contracted in November. The Flash France Composite Output Index sank to 48.5 from 50. 5 in October.
"Renewed weakness was evident across both services and manufacturing, and the poor set of figures underline the fragility of the economy in the face of a persistently anaemic demand environment," noted Markit economist Jack Kennedy. "Although remaining above the levels seen in the first half of the year, PMI data highlight the risk of a return to recession for France in Q4 following the - 0.1% fall in GDP during Q3.""