Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Friday, as recent comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi continued to weigh, while investors eyed the release of euro zone inflation data due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 eased 0.03%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.14%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.19%.
European equities weakened after ECB President Draghi indicated on Tuesday that the bank could soon start to unwind its quantitative easing program.
In addition, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said Wednesday that some removal of monetary stimulus is likely to become necessary as spare capacity in the economy erodes.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) gained 0.36% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slipped 0.21% in France, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) advanced 0.16% and 1.52%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) jumped 1% and 1.15% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) slid 0.35% and 0.29%.
Elsewhere, BASF dropped 0.88% after saying it will consider buying seed assets from rivals to win antitrust approval for tie-ups.
On the upside, Lufthansa shares jumped 1.47% after the airliner said it had teamed up with companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) to boost its technology offering, especially for airline and airport staff.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.36%, weighed by Dixons Carphone (LON:DC), whose shares plummeted 2.18% two days after posting record full-year profits.
Mining stocks added to losses on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Fresnillo (LON:FRES) dropped 0.40% and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) lost 0.97%, while rival company Glencore (LON:GLEN) tumbled 1.48%.
Tesco (LON:TSCO) was also on the downside, as shares retreated 0.79% amid reports the retailer is seeking to speed up the onset of a widely expected competition probe into its acquisition of food wholesaler Booker Group by requesting the regulator “fast-track” its decision to launch a full investigation.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. The Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) declined 0.36% and 0.40% respectively, while Barclays (LON:BARC) added 0.22% and HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) rose 0.24%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.02% uptick, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.33% slide.