Investing.com - European stocks opened steady on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England's monthly policy statement, due later in the day.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.13%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.05% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.02%.
The ECB was widely expected to hold off any fresh policy action later Thursday, but comments by central bank president Mario Draghi will be closely watched for indications on the ECB's future policy moves.
European equities found some support on Wednesday after Markit research agency said that the euro zone's final services purchasing managers' index inched up to 51.2 in November, up from a preliminary reading of 50.9 and compared to 51.6 in October.
Investors were also eyeing the release of a key U.S. jobs report on Friday, after a string of positive data over the week added to expectations the Federal Reserve will soon begin tapering its montly asset purchases.
Financial stocks were mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.63% and 0.46%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank rose 0.33%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slipped 0.05% and 0.18% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo fell 0.05% and 0.38%.
Elsewhere, Merck declined 0.90% after saying it agreed to buy AZ Electronic Materials for about USD2.6 billion in cash to add chemicals used in the electronics industry.
Vienna Insurance Group was also on the downside, with shares plummeting 4.36%, as an undisclosed seller offered 2.29 million shares in the company.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.03%, led by sharp losses in Standard Chartered, down 5.14%, after the lender said full-year operating profit at its consumer-banking unit will drop at least 10%.
Meanwhile, shares in Lloyds banking edged up 0.06% and the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.27%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays gained 0.56% and 1.19% respectively.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher, as Glencore Xstrata added 0.12% and Fresnillo jumped 1.93%, while rival company Vedanta Resources saw shares surge 2.07%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a revised estimate of third quarter gross domestic product, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on factory orders.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.13%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.05% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.02%.
The ECB was widely expected to hold off any fresh policy action later Thursday, but comments by central bank president Mario Draghi will be closely watched for indications on the ECB's future policy moves.
European equities found some support on Wednesday after Markit research agency said that the euro zone's final services purchasing managers' index inched up to 51.2 in November, up from a preliminary reading of 50.9 and compared to 51.6 in October.
Investors were also eyeing the release of a key U.S. jobs report on Friday, after a string of positive data over the week added to expectations the Federal Reserve will soon begin tapering its montly asset purchases.
Financial stocks were mostly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.63% and 0.46%, although Germany's Deutsche Bank rose 0.33%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slipped 0.05% and 0.18% respectively, while Italy's Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo fell 0.05% and 0.38%.
Elsewhere, Merck declined 0.90% after saying it agreed to buy AZ Electronic Materials for about USD2.6 billion in cash to add chemicals used in the electronics industry.
Vienna Insurance Group was also on the downside, with shares plummeting 4.36%, as an undisclosed seller offered 2.29 million shares in the company.
In London, FTSE 100 dipped 0.03%, led by sharp losses in Standard Chartered, down 5.14%, after the lender said full-year operating profit at its consumer-banking unit will drop at least 10%.
Meanwhile, shares in Lloyds banking edged up 0.06% and the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.27%, while HSBC Holdings and Barclays gained 0.56% and 1.19% respectively.
Mining stocks were also broadly higher, as Glencore Xstrata added 0.12% and Fresnillo jumped 1.93%, while rival company Vedanta Resources saw shares surge 2.07%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.06% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.01% gain.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a revised estimate of third quarter gross domestic product, as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on factory orders.