The benchmark FTSE 100 index in London, Europe's biggest stock market, fell 52.9 points, or 0.8%, to 6,230.6 with media and technology stocks among the leading losers.
Frankfurt's Xetra Dax slipped 0.4%, or 28.16 points, to 7,241.12. The CAC 40 index in Paris fell 10.75 points, or 0.2%, to 6,438.52, with gains for industrial and utility stocks keeping the losses limited.
The FTSE Eurotop 300 index, a basket of the region's biggest stocks, fell 0.9% to 1,614.43.
In Japan, the Nikkei Average of 225 leading stocks fell 0.25% to close at 17,313.69, dragged down Honda Motor, which reported a 14% decline in net profit. Traders said the run-up to a batch of Japanese corporate earnings reports in the coming weeks kept investors on the sidelines.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index slipped 230.64 points, or 1.5%, to close at 14,881.3, amid thin trading ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. Hong Kong is expected to announce an increase in local rates soon after the Fed's verdict. Singapore's Straits Times index was down 0.7% at 2,011.7.
