Investing.com – European stock markets were mixed on Thursday as investors awaited the outcome of Spanish and Italian debt auctions, while U.S. futures indexes pointed to a lower open on Wall Street.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.30%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.02%.
Markets were focused on bond sales by Spain and Italy later in the day and on an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly higher. Shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander surged 4.49%, rival BBVA saw shares rally 5.55%, while Italy’s biggest bank Unicredit jumped 2.78%.
However, shares in Germany’s second largest lender Commerzbank plunged 2.84% after it said it planned to increase capital by up to 10% to meet stricter capital requirements by issuing new stock.
Meanwhile, shares in Germany’s largest airliner Deutsche Lufthansa tumbled 2.13% after it said that operating results in the fourth quarter could be lower after adverse weather affected its performance in December.
Elsewhere, rival Air France-KLM saw shares plunge 1.79%, while shares in low-cost carrier Ryanair dropped 1.71%.
In London, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.33% as retailers led declines.
Shares in the world’s third largest retailer Tesco tumbled 1.92% after it said that sales in the U.K. rose by a modest 0.6% in the six weeks to January 8 as severe winter weather hindered its Christmas sales growth.
Meanwhile, shares in the biggest U.K. consumer-electronics retailer Dixons Retail plummeted 8.55% after it said that total sales in the U.K. in the 12 weeks ended January 8 fell by 2%.
Later in the day, the Bank of England was to announce its benchmark interest rate decision.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was modestly downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.03%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.06%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data, including a key weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on producer price inflation and its trade balance.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.69%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.30%, while Germany's DAX was up 0.02%.
Markets were focused on bond sales by Spain and Italy later in the day and on an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank.
Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly higher. Shares in Spain’s largest lender Banco Santander surged 4.49%, rival BBVA saw shares rally 5.55%, while Italy’s biggest bank Unicredit jumped 2.78%.
However, shares in Germany’s second largest lender Commerzbank plunged 2.84% after it said it planned to increase capital by up to 10% to meet stricter capital requirements by issuing new stock.
Meanwhile, shares in Germany’s largest airliner Deutsche Lufthansa tumbled 2.13% after it said that operating results in the fourth quarter could be lower after adverse weather affected its performance in December.
Elsewhere, rival Air France-KLM saw shares plunge 1.79%, while shares in low-cost carrier Ryanair dropped 1.71%.
In London, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.33% as retailers led declines.
Shares in the world’s third largest retailer Tesco tumbled 1.92% after it said that sales in the U.K. rose by a modest 0.6% in the six weeks to January 8 as severe winter weather hindered its Christmas sales growth.
Meanwhile, shares in the biggest U.K. consumer-electronics retailer Dixons Retail plummeted 8.55% after it said that total sales in the U.K. in the 12 weeks ended January 8 fell by 2%.
Later in the day, the Bank of England was to announce its benchmark interest rate decision.
The outlook for U.S. equity markets, meanwhile, was modestly downbeat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.03%, S&P 500 futures indicated a loss of 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a decrease of 0.06%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data, including a key weekly report on initial jobless claims as well as data on producer price inflation and its trade balance.