Investing.com - European stocks turned broadly lower on Wednesday, despite the release of positive economic reports from the euro zone, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.16%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.21%.
Data earlier 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%.
The reports came after soft inflation data on Tuesday fuelled fresh concerns over the threat of deflation in the currency bloc ahead of the ECB's first policy meeting of the year on Thursday.
Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale jumped 1.60% and 2.25%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank rallied 1.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA edged up 0.12%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit advanced 1.51% and 1.68% respectively.
On the downside, Kion Group rose 0.33%, erasing earlier losses, after the forklift maker's biggest shareholder put a 10.8% stake in the company on sale.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.46%, after data showed that U.K. house prices fell for the first time in 11 months in December.
Sainsbury tumbled 1.19%, even after saying its best Christmas on record helped the retailer’s quarterly sales beat analysts’ projections.
Meanwhile, mining stocks remained broadly higher, as Randgold Resources gained 0.43% and Vedanta Resources jumped 1.31%, while rival Glencore Xstrata climbed 1.77%.
In the financial sector, stocks also remained mostly higher. Shares in Barclays gained 0.33% and Lloyds Banking rallied 1.17%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 1.20%. HSBC Holdings underperformed however, edging down 0.08%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% slip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% loss.
Also Wednesday, German factory orders surged 2.1% in November, surpassing expectations for a gain of 1.5%. Factory orders fell by 2.1% in October.
A separate report showed that Germany's trade surplus expanded to EUR17.8 billion in November, from a downwardly revised surplus of EUR16.7 billion the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to expand to EUR18 billion in November.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.16%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.21%.
Data earlier 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%.
The reports came after soft inflation data on Tuesday fuelled fresh concerns over the threat of deflation in the currency bloc ahead of the ECB's first policy meeting of the year on Thursday.
Financial stocks remained broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale jumped 1.60% and 2.25%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank rallied 1.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish bank BBVA edged up 0.12%, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit advanced 1.51% and 1.68% respectively.
On the downside, Kion Group rose 0.33%, erasing earlier losses, after the forklift maker's biggest shareholder put a 10.8% stake in the company on sale.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.46%, after data showed that U.K. house prices fell for the first time in 11 months in December.
Sainsbury tumbled 1.19%, even after saying its best Christmas on record helped the retailer’s quarterly sales beat analysts’ projections.
Meanwhile, mining stocks remained broadly higher, as Randgold Resources gained 0.43% and Vedanta Resources jumped 1.31%, while rival Glencore Xstrata climbed 1.77%.
In the financial sector, stocks also remained mostly higher. Shares in Barclays gained 0.33% and Lloyds Banking rallied 1.17%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 1.20%. HSBC Holdings underperformed however, edging down 0.08%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% fall, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% slip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.07% loss.
Also Wednesday, German factory orders surged 2.1% in November, surpassing expectations for a gain of 1.5%. Factory orders fell by 2.1% in October.
A separate report showed that Germany's trade surplus expanded to EUR17.8 billion in November, from a downwardly revised surplus of EUR16.7 billion the previous month. Analysts had expected the trade surplus to expand to EUR18 billion in November.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the ADP report on private sector job creation.