Investing.com - European stocks were steady to lower on Wednesday, as markets eyed a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports, although the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday still lent some support.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.03%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dipped 0.07%.
European equities were boosted after centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron won the first round of French presidential elections over the weekend.
Polls, which were largely accurate in predicting the first round result, have indicated that Macron will comfortably beat far right candidate Marine Le Pen in the runoff vote on May 7, easing concerns over the prospect of a French exit from the euro zone.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) and BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) lost 0.18% and 0.82%, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) gained 0.41% and 0.83%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) lost 0.50% and 1.80% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MC:SAN) and BBVA (MC:BBVA) rose 0.23% and 0.63%.
Earlier Wednesday, Santander reported a 14% rise in first-quarter profits.
Also in earnings news, Daimler AG NA O.N. (DE:DAIGn) raised its full-year outlook after posting a net profit two times higher in the first quarter compared to a year ago, sending shares up 0.15%.
On the downside, Peugeot SA (PA:PEUP) saw shares decline 0.77% even after the French carmaker reported a 4.9% increase in first-quarter revenue as new models helped offset the impact of lower sales and exchange rate movements.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 eased 0.08%, weighed by losses in the energy sector.
Shares in Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) slid 0.59% after the company reported a contraction in net debt to $4.6 billion in March from $4.8 billion at the end of last year. Rival group BP (LON:BP) saw shares drop 0.43%.
Financial stocks added to losses, with HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) edging down 0.09% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) slipping 0.13%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) declined 0.67%. Barclays (LON:BARC) overperformed however, as shares rose 0.23%.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher as Glencore (LON:GLEN) rose 0.21% and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) gained 0.31%, while Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) advanced 0.49% and 0.91% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.07% uptick, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.01% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.06% gain.