Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Thursday, as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting signalled the possibility for near-term tapering of its stimulus program and as disappointing Chinese data weighed.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.93%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.97%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.77%.
According to the minutes of the Fed’s October meeting, policymakers said they could start scaling back the USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program in the “coming months” if the economy continues to improve as expected.
Sentiment was hit after data showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing index ticked down to 50.4 in November, from a final reading of 50.9 in October, missing forecasts for a reading of 50.8.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.54% and 0.80%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank declined 0.86%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 0.80% and 1.03% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 0.83% and 0.94% respectively.
Elsewhere, Atos plunged 4.49% after the French computer services company said it sold 8.9 million shares.
Zurich Insurance Group was also on the downside, sliding 0.79% after selling its entire stake in New China Life Insurance Co. for USD943 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slumped 0.50%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata tumbled 1.18% and Antofogasta lost 2.01%, while rivals Randgold Resources and Vedanta Resources plunged 2.18% and 2.34%.
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as Barclays slipped 0.27% and HSBC Holdings declined 0.70%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland shed 0.33%. Lloyds Banking overperformed however, up 0.32%.
On the upside, SABMiller posted first-half earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, sending shares up 0.60%.
Johnson Matthey was the best performer on the index, rallying 2.50%, after reporting a profit increase to GBP202.1 million from GBP180.1 million a year earlier.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% uptick.
Also Thursday, Markit research group said Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a 29-month high of 52.5 in November, from a final reading of 51.7 the previous month, exceeding expectations for a reading of 52.0.
Germany's services PMI rose to 54.5 this month, from 52.9 in October, above expectations for a reading of 53.0.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity. The U.S. was release data on producer price inflation, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data manufacturing activity from the Philly Fed.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.93%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.97%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slid 0.77%.
According to the minutes of the Fed’s October meeting, policymakers said they could start scaling back the USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program in the “coming months” if the economy continues to improve as expected.
Sentiment was hit after data showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing index ticked down to 50.4 in November, from a final reading of 50.9 in October, missing forecasts for a reading of 50.8.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale slid 0.54% and 0.80%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank declined 0.86%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 0.80% and 1.03% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 0.83% and 0.94% respectively.
Elsewhere, Atos plunged 4.49% after the French computer services company said it sold 8.9 million shares.
Zurich Insurance Group was also on the downside, sliding 0.79% after selling its entire stake in New China Life Insurance Co. for USD943 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slumped 0.50%, weighed by sharp losses in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata tumbled 1.18% and Antofogasta lost 2.01%, while rivals Randgold Resources and Vedanta Resources plunged 2.18% and 2.34%.
Financial stocks were also mostly lower, as Barclays slipped 0.27% and HSBC Holdings declined 0.70%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland shed 0.33%. Lloyds Banking overperformed however, up 0.32%.
On the upside, SABMiller posted first-half earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, sending shares up 0.60%.
Johnson Matthey was the best performer on the index, rallying 2.50%, after reporting a profit increase to GBP202.1 million from GBP180.1 million a year earlier.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.06% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.04% uptick.
Also Thursday, Markit research group said Germany's manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to a 29-month high of 52.5 in November, from a final reading of 51.7 the previous month, exceeding expectations for a reading of 52.0.
Germany's services PMI rose to 54.5 this month, from 52.9 in October, above expectations for a reading of 53.0.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity. The U.S. was release data on producer price inflation, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data manufacturing activity from the Philly Fed.