European shares fall due to focus on Russian gas supplies and mixed results for companies

European shares fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as markets received mixed results and as tensions escalated in the energy sector after Russian energy giant Gazprom halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.4 percent and appeared to be on its way to a fourth consecutive day of selling, approaching a six-week low.

Gazprom has halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay them in Russian rubles, in the Kremlin’s fiercest response yet to harsh Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

Mining companies extended their gains for the second consecutive session after a recent sell-off, while sectors with defensive stocks such as utilities and food and beverage led the decline.

Deutsche Bank fell 5 percent after it warned that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict would negatively affect full-year business results, despite announcing a 17% jump in first-quarter profit that exceeded expectations.

Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group rose 1.2 percent after posting strong quarterly earnings, with Britain’s largest mortgage lender largely ignoring the impact of the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis.