Investing.com - European stocks declined on Thursday, as markets were jittery ahead of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England's first policy statements of the year, scheduled later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.34%, while Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.32%.
On Wednesday, data showed that the euro zone's unemployment rate held steady at a seasonally adjusted 12.1% in November, in line with expectations and unchanged from October.
A separate report showed that retail sales in the euro zone jumped by a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in November, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.2% gain. Retail sales fell 0.4% in October, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.2%.
In the U.S., Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed that the bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to cut its asset purchase program by USD10 billion, reducing it to USD75 billion-a-month.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lender BNP Paribas shed 0.36%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 0.69% and 0.67%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slipped 0.26% and 0.27% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit retreated 0.39% and 0.63%.
Adding to losses, French chemical company Arkema plummeted 3.23% after cutting its full-year earnings forecast to around EUR900 million.
Elsewhere, TGS Nopec Geophysical soared 13% after the Norwegian surveyor of underwater oil and gas field raised its annual revenue projection to USD882 million.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.24%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland edged down 0.11% and Lloyds Banking slipped 0.18%, while Barclays fell 0.25% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.85%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 0.94% and 0.91%, while rivals Vedanta Resources and Randgold Resources lost 1.65% and 1.23% respectively.
On the upside, AstraZeneca rallied 1.10% after the Food and Drug Administration approved dapagliflozin, a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% slide.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish data on industrial production, while the U.S. Labor Department was to release its weekly report on initial jobless claims.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 slid 0.34%, while Germany’s DAX 30 shed 0.32%.
On Wednesday, data showed that the euro zone's unemployment rate held steady at a seasonally adjusted 12.1% in November, in line with expectations and unchanged from October.
A separate report showed that retail sales in the euro zone jumped by a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in November, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.2% gain. Retail sales fell 0.4% in October, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.2%.
In the U.S., Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed that the bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to cut its asset purchase program by USD10 billion, reducing it to USD75 billion-a-month.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lender BNP Paribas shed 0.36%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank declined 0.69% and 0.67%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slipped 0.26% and 0.27% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit retreated 0.39% and 0.63%.
Adding to losses, French chemical company Arkema plummeted 3.23% after cutting its full-year earnings forecast to around EUR900 million.
Elsewhere, TGS Nopec Geophysical soared 13% after the Norwegian surveyor of underwater oil and gas field raised its annual revenue projection to USD882 million.
In London, FTSE 100 slid 0.24%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland edged down 0.11% and Lloyds Banking slipped 0.18%, while Barclays fell 0.25% and HSBC Holdings retreated 0.85%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly lower. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 0.94% and 0.91%, while rivals Vedanta Resources and Randgold Resources lost 1.65% and 1.23% respectively.
On the upside, AstraZeneca rallied 1.10% after the Food and Drug Administration approved dapagliflozin, a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.17% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.17% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% slide.
Later in the day, Germany was to publish data on industrial production, while the U.S. Labor Department was to release its weekly report on initial jobless claims.