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Wall Street shares ended the second quarter on a sour note after a surprise fall in consumer confidence dented hopes for a recovery in spending to lead the country out of recession.
The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index retreated to 49.3 points in June from a revised 54.8 in May.
Most analysts expected a much stronger reading of 55.3 points in the 100-point index.
Stocks turned sharply lower as investors digested the surprising decline, which suggested consumers were not ready to open their wallets to boost the spending that drives two-thirds of US economic activity.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 82.38 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 8,447 points.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 9.02 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 1,835.04 and the broad-market Standard Poor's 500 lost 7.91 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 919.32.European stock exchanges posted early gains but closed lower after news that US consumer confidence shrank in June on worries about the recession and vanishing jobs.
The London FTSE 100 index shed 44.82 points, or 1.04 per cent, to close at 4,249.21 points.
The Dax lost 76.45 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 4,808.64.
The CAC 40 fell 53.24 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 3,140.44.
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower after a decline in US consumer confidence saw Wall Street and European markets fall on concerns about an economic recovery.
At 0725 AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was 24 points lower at 3,877.
In economic news on Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases retail trade data and building approvals data, both for May.
The Reserve Bank of Australia releases its index of commodity prices for May.
The Australian Industry Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) for June is due.
The Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations releases a its job vacancies survey, including a new internet component.
The State Street June Global Investor Confidence Index will be released.
In equities news, the Ethical Investor second annual Green Marketing Forum continues in Melbourne.
The Australian share market ended the final day of the financial year on Tuesday firmly in the black, supported by stronger energy and retail sectors and a positive lead from Wall Street.
The benchmark SP/ASX200 index rose 68 points, or 1.75 per cent, to 3,954.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 65.1 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 3,947.8 points.
