Investing.com – European stocks were down on Wednesday, as fears over a slide in the U.S. housing sector undermined market confidence in the strength of the global economic recovery.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.62%; France’s CAC 40 fell 0.68%; and Germany's DAX was down 0.39%.
Investor sentiment was undermined after industry data released on Tuesday showed that that existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped 2.2% in May. The drop in sales came even as mortgage rates were at an all time low.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was due to publish data on new home sales.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that while activity in France's services sector increased at a faster rate than forecast in June, activity in Germany’s manufacturing sector fell at a faster rate than forecast during the month.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% with miners emerging as the worst performers, as BHP Billiton fell 2.1% and Rio Tinto shed 2.3%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was rosy: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated an increase of 0.53%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.55% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.45%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate, the Federal Funds Rate.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 was down 0.62%; France’s CAC 40 fell 0.68%; and Germany's DAX was down 0.39%.
Investor sentiment was undermined after industry data released on Tuesday showed that that existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped 2.2% in May. The drop in sales came even as mortgage rates were at an all time low.
Later Wednesday, the U.S. was due to publish data on new home sales.
Earlier in the day, official data showed that while activity in France's services sector increased at a faster rate than forecast in June, activity in Germany’s manufacturing sector fell at a faster rate than forecast during the month.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.5% with miners emerging as the worst performers, as BHP Billiton fell 2.1% and Rio Tinto shed 2.3%.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was rosy: Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated an increase of 0.53%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.55% and Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.45%.
Later in the day, the U.S. Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate, the Federal Funds Rate.