German software giant SAP publicly confirms its "concerns" about archrival Oracle's pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems and addresses speculation that the company's CEO indirectly offered to facilitate winning clearance for the merger from European regulators.

European companies haven’t beaten analyst estimates as well as U.S. firms in the latest round of quarterly earnings and share prices have also started to diverge slightly, potentially signalling a wider gap to come.

U.S. stock futures fall on Wednesday as markets gear up for another busy day of earnings, along with a full schedule of economic data, including durable goods orders and new home sales.

Shares in Germany’s SAP dropped more than 7% in early trading Wednesday after the business-software firm cut its sales outlook for the year and reported a profit that missed market expectations.

European shares dropped on Wednesday for the fourth time in five sessions, pulled lower as results from SAP, ArcelorMittal, BG Group and Banco Santander failed to provide inspiration.

Company Appoints Former Sybase CFO and Senior VP/General Manager of EMEA Pieter Van Der Vorst as Chief Financial Officer