Investing.com - European stocks were little changed on Friday, as markets were jittery ahead of highly anticipated talks between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers on how to resolve the country’s "fiscal cliff", while euro zone debt concerns weighed.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.03%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.08%.
Investors remained concerned over the looming "fiscal cliff" in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
Meanwhile, markets were also jittery after official data on Thursday showed that the euro zone's economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter, following a contraction of 0.2% in the preceding quarter. A technical recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.62% and 0.24%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank retreated 0.39% and 0.54% respectively.
Also on the downside, Swiss-based STMicroelectronics tumbled 2.38% amid reports Europe’s largest semiconductor maker will probably decide against splitting itself into two units after disagreements between French and Italian executives over the breakup proposal.
SAP was one of the session's top gainers on the other hand, with shares jumping 1.66%, as the software company was said to be quickly growing its startup following of its big data platform HANA, signing 20 new firms to run production applications on it.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.09% in cautious trade.
Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking added 0.09% and 0.13%, while Barclays and HSBC Holdings slipped 0.01% and 0.26%.
Elsewhere, mining giant Rio Tinto eased up 0.02%, while rival BHP Billiton fell 0.12%.
Copper producers were also mixed, with shares in Xstrata declining 0.20% and Kazakhmys adding 0.37%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% dip.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on the current account.
The U.S. was to produce official data on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production, as well as a report on the balance of domestic and foreign securities purchases.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.09%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.03%, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.08%.
Investors remained concerned over the looming "fiscal cliff" in the U.S., approximately USD600 billion in automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to come into effect on January 1.
There are fears the U.S. economy will fall back into a recession, unless a divided Congress and the White House can work out a compromise before then.
Meanwhile, markets were also jittery after official data on Thursday showed that the euro zone's economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter, following a contraction of 0.2% in the preceding quarter. A technical recession is defined as two straight quarters of contraction.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale dropped 0.62% and 0.24%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank retreated 0.39% and 0.54% respectively.
Also on the downside, Swiss-based STMicroelectronics tumbled 2.38% amid reports Europe’s largest semiconductor maker will probably decide against splitting itself into two units after disagreements between French and Italian executives over the breakup proposal.
SAP was one of the session's top gainers on the other hand, with shares jumping 1.66%, as the software company was said to be quickly growing its startup following of its big data platform HANA, signing 20 new firms to run production applications on it.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.09% in cautious trade.
Financial stocks were mixed, as shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking added 0.09% and 0.13%, while Barclays and HSBC Holdings slipped 0.01% and 0.26%.
Elsewhere, mining giant Rio Tinto eased up 0.02%, while rival BHP Billiton fell 0.12%.
Copper producers were also mixed, with shares in Xstrata declining 0.20% and Kazakhmys adding 0.37%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% dip.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on the current account.
The U.S. was to produce official data on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production, as well as a report on the balance of domestic and foreign securities purchases.