LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks traded in a tight range Wednesday after setting fresh 14-month highs in the previous session, with Swiss pharmaceutical company Basilea falling sharply after a setback on a key drug.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index fell 0.1% to 253.97 after Tuesday marked the index's highest close since October 2008.

Among the main country indexes, the German DAX 30 index fell 0.1% to 6,004.58, the French CAC 40 index dipped 0.03% to 3,959.52 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 5,441.15.

Basilea was the standout faller, with its shares dropping 28% after the company, which holds the patent on ceftobiprole, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had rejected Johnson & Johnson's application to market the drug.

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The FDA said some of the data underpinning the drug application were "unreliable or unverifiable," and recommended that two new studies be carried out, according to a statement from Basilea.

There were relatively few other big movers in Europe, though Bank of Ireland lost 2.7% in Dublin in a mixed session for European bank stocks.

Airlines were also mostly lower, with Ryanair Holdings down 1.5% and easyJet down 1% in London and Air France-KLM down 0.6% in Paris.

Shares in Japan Airlines had earlier plunged around 25% in Tokyo on concerns that the struggling group may file for bankruptcy protection.

Among stocks rising Wednesday was medical-supplies distributor Euromedis Group , which gained 9.6% in Paris after reporting an 11% rise in its fiscal first-quarter revenue.

Europe Markets: European shares in tight range as Basilea slumps