Investing.com - European stock markets were mixed in rangebound trade after the open on Thursday, as a U.S. government shutdown entered its third day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tacked on 0.1%.
Investors continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown after President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, although a solution still seemed unlikely.
Markets were also considering how the political deadlock in Washington will impact negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Moody's Investors Service warned that a failure to raise the debt limit would result in a worse outcome for financial markets than a government shutdown.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, sentiment remained supported after Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta survived a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday, after Silvio Berlusconi dropped his opposition to the coalition, in a surprise U-turn after announcing Saturday that he was pulling his ministers out of the government.
In addition, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterating on Wednesday that bank rates would remain at current or lower levels for an “extended period of time”, given the subdued inflation outlook and low levels of growth in the region.
Draghi also reiterated that the ECB remains ready to extend a third round of ultra-cheap loans to banks, in order to safeguard the recovery.
European lenders were mixed, with Germany’s Deutsche Bank up 0.3%, while Commerzbank lost 0.8%. In France, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole dipped 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, with oil major BP up 1.25% after a U.S. court halted some settlements related to claims over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Insurance giant Aviva advanced 1.9% after revealing that the sale of its U.S. life-insurance business to Athene Holding in December 2012 generated proceeds of USD2.6 billion.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets pointed to a modestly lower open, as investors remained concerned over political wrangling in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.1% decline.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, while the ISM was to produce a report on non-manufacturing activity.
A partial shutdown of U.S. federal government operations was expected to delay Friday's highly-anticipated non-farm payrolls report for September.
On Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 166,000 in September, below expectations for an increase of 180,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 159,000 from a previously reported increase of 176,000.
Market players have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Last month the U.S. central bank took markets by surprise with a decision to keep its stimulus program on track, saying it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before tapering.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.1%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tacked on 0.1%.
Investors continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown after President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday, although a solution still seemed unlikely.
Markets were also considering how the political deadlock in Washington will impact negotiations to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated will be reached by October 17.
Moody's Investors Service warned that a failure to raise the debt limit would result in a worse outcome for financial markets than a government shutdown.
Meanwhile, in the euro zone, sentiment remained supported after Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta survived a vote of confidence in parliament on Wednesday, after Silvio Berlusconi dropped his opposition to the coalition, in a surprise U-turn after announcing Saturday that he was pulling his ministers out of the government.
In addition, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterating on Wednesday that bank rates would remain at current or lower levels for an “extended period of time”, given the subdued inflation outlook and low levels of growth in the region.
Draghi also reiterated that the ECB remains ready to extend a third round of ultra-cheap loans to banks, in order to safeguard the recovery.
European lenders were mixed, with Germany’s Deutsche Bank up 0.3%, while Commerzbank lost 0.8%. In France, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole dipped 0.5% and 0.4% respectively.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, with oil major BP up 1.25% after a U.S. court halted some settlements related to claims over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Insurance giant Aviva advanced 1.9% after revealing that the sale of its U.S. life-insurance business to Athene Holding in December 2012 generated proceeds of USD2.6 billion.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets pointed to a modestly lower open, as investors remained concerned over political wrangling in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.1% decline.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims, while the ISM was to produce a report on non-manufacturing activity.
A partial shutdown of U.S. federal government operations was expected to delay Friday's highly-anticipated non-farm payrolls report for September.
On Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 166,000 in September, below expectations for an increase of 180,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 159,000 from a previously reported increase of 176,000.
Market players have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Last month the U.S. central bank took markets by surprise with a decision to keep its stimulus program on track, saying it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before tapering.