Late Comeback Falls Short For Most European Markets

(RTTNews) - European stocks fell for a second session on Tuesday, hurt by a potential breakdown in relations between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stock fell 0.23 percent, but finished well off the session lows.

The German DAX lost 0.15 percent and the French CAC 40 slipped 0.21 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 lost 0.52 percent while Switzerland's SMI added 0.18 percent.

Suedzucker AG plunged 20 percent, its worst daily showing in 15 years, after saying revenue and profits will miss analysts' estimates.

Sports Direct International dropped 9.4 percent amid reports that founder Mike Ashley was selling a 4 percent stake in the retailer.

Infineon Technologies eased 1.2 percent. Merrill Lynch cut Infineon to ''Underperform'' from ''Neutral.''

Nokia Oyj climbed 5.9 percent after getting China's approval for the sale of its handsets business to Microsoft.

Resolution Ltd. declined 3.7 percent on a downgrade.

In economic news, exports by British services providers grew at the fastest rate on record in the first quarter, a survey showed Tuesday.

U.K. industrial production also rose more than expected.