Investing.com - European stocks were moderately lower on Thursday, ahead of euro zone inflation data, but remained supported after Wednesday's upbeat U.S. economic reports added to optimism over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.31%, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.32%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.19%.
Data released on Wednesday showed that manufacturing activity in the Empire State expanded at the fastest pace since May 2012 in January as new orders rose sharply.
A separate report showed that U.S. producer price inflation rose at the strongest rate in six months in December.
The strong data reinforced expectations that the U.S. economic recovery will continue to deepen going into this year and offset lingering concerns over last week’s surprising weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lender Societe Generale edged down 0.06%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank lost 0.10% and 0.91%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks Banco Santander and BBVA retreated 0.71% and 0.85% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo tumbled 1.02% and 1.04%.
Elsewhere, Carrefour plummeted 1.87% after the Paris-based retailer said total French sales, excluding petrol, rose 2.2% in the fourth quarter.
Adding to losses, Airbus Group dropped 0.46% following reports France is selling a EUR455 million stake in the aircraft maker to institutional investors.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.03%, weighed by losses in the financial sector.
Shares in Barclays shed 0.30% and HSBC Holdings declined 0.43%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking retreated 0.59% and 0.93%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher, as Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata jumped 1.34% and 1.46% respectively, while BHP Billiton and Fresnillo surged 2.34% and 4.09%.
Rio Tinto earlier said that it cut cash costs by more than USD2 billion and halved exploration spending across the range of commodities to USD948 million last year, beating the targets set by Chief Executive Officer Sam Walsh.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.15% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% dip.
Later in the day, the euro zone is to release data on consumer inflation. The U.S. was to publish reports on consumer price inflation and initial jobless claims, in addition to data on manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.