Investing.com - European stocks turned lower on Thursday, after strong data on business activity in the euro zone boosted the outlook for the economic recovery in the region, as a weak manufacturing report from China still weighed.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.25%, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.09%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.23%.
Markit said the euro zone’s composite output index rose to a 31-month high of 53.2 in January, up from a final reading of 52.1 in December, as growth picked up in Germany and the rate of decline eased in France.
The preliminary reading of the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing manager’s index rose to a 32-month high of 53.9 from 52.7 in December. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 53.0. The region’s services PMI advanced to a four-month high of 51.9 from 51.0 in December, compared to forecasts for a reading of 51.4.
Manufacturing activity in Germany expanded at the fastest pace since May 2011 this month. Germany’s manufacturing PMI rose to 56.3 in January from a final reading of 54.3 in December. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 54.6. However, Germany’s services PMI rose to 53.6 from 53.5 in December, slightly below expectations for a reading of 54.0.
Earlier in the day, the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a six-month low of 49.6 in January from a final reading of 50.5 in the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to tick up to 50.6.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas and Societe Generale climbed 0.90% and 1.19%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank rallied 1.18%.
Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander gained 0.76% and 0.81% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit rose 0.28% and 0.43%.
Elsewhere, Logitech International soared 12.30% after reporting quarterly profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ estimates.
LEG Immobilien also added to gains, rallying 1.65%, after the residential landlord’s largest shareholder sold a stake of about EUR665 million.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 fell 0.28%, weighed by losses in the mining sector.
BHP Billiton saw shares slip 0.22% and Rio Tinto shed 0.29%, while Vedanta Resources lost 0.33% and Glencore Xstrata tumbled 0.96%.
Meanwhile, financial stocks remained mostly higher. Lloyds Banking and Barclays jumped 1.14% and 1.68% respectively, while the Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 1.59%. HSBC Holdings still underperformed however, down 0.32%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.40% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% loss.
Also Thursday, manufacturing and services sector activity in France expanded at a faster than expected rate in December, but remained in contraction territory.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and a private sector report on existing home sales.