Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, as markets awaited the European Central Bank's rate decision, followed by comments by the bank's president Mario Draghi, amid ongoing uncertainty over whether Spain will ask for a sovereign bailout.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.34%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.40%.
Stocks were boosted after upbeat U.S. data on Wednesday eased concerns over the strength of the country's economic recovery.
But investors remained cautious as weak service sector data out of the euro zone and China added to concerns over a global economic slowdown.
Revised data showed that the euro zone’s service purchasing managers' index dropped to 46.1 in September, well below the 50 level which separates contraction from expansion.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas rose 0.27% and 0.47%, while Germanys saw shares in Deutsche Bank inch up 0.03% and Commerzbank add 0.14%.
Peripheral lenders added to gains, with shares in Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpoalo climbing 1.19% and 0.48%, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander advanced 0.50% and 0.85% respectively.
On the downside, Swiss company Nobel Biocare plummeted 7.37% as the world’s second-biggest maker of dental implants said full-year profit will be affected by a deteriorating Japanese market.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.31%, weighed by losses in mining stocks and after industry data showed that house prices in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in September.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 2.08% and 0.76%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dropped 0.70% and 0.78%.
Oil and gas giant Anglo American was also on the downside, declining 0.67%, while rival BP plunged 1.80%.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking fell 0.26%, while HSBC Holdings rose 0.28%, Barclays added 0.29% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.89%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% gain.
Later in the day, the ECB was to announce its benchmark interest rate, followed by a press conference with bank head Mario Draghi.
The U.S. was to release weekly government data on unemployment claims, as well as official data on factory orders, while the Federal Reserve was to produce the minutes of its September policy meeting.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.34%, France’s CAC 40 slumped 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.40%.
Stocks were boosted after upbeat U.S. data on Wednesday eased concerns over the strength of the country's economic recovery.
But investors remained cautious as weak service sector data out of the euro zone and China added to concerns over a global economic slowdown.
Revised data showed that the euro zone’s service purchasing managers' index dropped to 46.1 in September, well below the 50 level which separates contraction from expansion.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas rose 0.27% and 0.47%, while Germanys saw shares in Deutsche Bank inch up 0.03% and Commerzbank add 0.14%.
Peripheral lenders added to gains, with shares in Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpoalo climbing 1.19% and 0.48%, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander advanced 0.50% and 0.85% respectively.
On the downside, Swiss company Nobel Biocare plummeted 7.37% as the world’s second-biggest maker of dental implants said full-year profit will be affected by a deteriorating Japanese market.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 declined 0.31%, weighed by losses in mining stocks and after industry data showed that house prices in the U.K. fell unexpectedly in September.
Mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton tumbled 2.08% and 0.76%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys dropped 0.70% and 0.78%.
Oil and gas giant Anglo American was also on the downside, declining 0.67%, while rival BP plunged 1.80%.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were mixed. Shares in Lloyds Banking fell 0.26%, while HSBC Holdings rose 0.28%, Barclays added 0.29% and the Royal Bank of Scotland climbed 0.89%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.13% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.20% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% gain.
Later in the day, the ECB was to announce its benchmark interest rate, followed by a press conference with bank head Mario Draghi.
The U.S. was to release weekly government data on unemployment claims, as well as official data on factory orders, while the Federal Reserve was to produce the minutes of its September policy meeting.