Investing.com - European stock markets fluctuated between small gains and losses on Thursday, as investors digested raft of economic data out of the euro zone, while continuing to monitor political wrangling in Washington.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched down 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tacked on 0.1%.
Official data released earlier showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose 0.7% in August, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.5% increase the previous month.
Separately, Markit research group said its final reading for the euro zone services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in September, from a reading of 52.1 in August. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
Germany's services PMI declined to 53.7 last month, from a reading of 54.4 in August, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
Also Thursday, Chinese government data showed that the nation’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index climbed to a six-month high of 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, with oil major BP up 1% after a U.S. court halted some settlements related to claims over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Insurance giant Aviva advanced 2.4% 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 continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown.
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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% 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.
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 afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 inched down 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX 30 tacked on 0.1%.
Official data released earlier showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose 0.7% in August, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain, after an upwardly revised 0.5% increase the previous month.
Separately, Markit research group said its final reading for the euro zone services purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in September, from a reading of 52.1 in August. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged last month.
Germany's services PMI declined to 53.7 last month, from a reading of 54.4 in August, compared to expectations for the index to remain unchanged.
Also Thursday, Chinese government data showed that the nation’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index climbed to a six-month high of 55.4 in September from 53.9 in August.
Elsewhere, in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, with oil major BP up 1% after a U.S. court halted some settlements related to claims over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Insurance giant Aviva advanced 2.4% 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 continued to weigh the implications of a protracted U.S. government shutdown.
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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.2%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% drop, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% 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.
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.