Investing.com - European markets opened mixed on Wednesday, as political turmoil in Spain continued to weigh and as investors looked ahead to speeches by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi due later in the day.
The EURO STOXX 50 inched up 0.01%, France’s CAC 40 eased 0.09% and Germany’s DAX 30 was up 0.25% by 03:45 a.m. ET (07:45 GMT).
Spain's IBEX 35 was down 1.51% on Wednesday, a day after a general strike took place in Catalonia, adding to tensions with the Spanish government following Sunday's independence vote.
Spain's King Felipe VI accused Catalan secessionist leaders of shattering democratic principles and dividing Catalan society, while the head of Catalonia's government Carles Puigdemont said the region will declare independence "in a matter of days."
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenderd BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) slid 0.38% and 0.79%, while Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) lost 0.28% and 1.40%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit (MI:CRDI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) declined 0.05% and 0.57% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) tumbled 1.29% and 1.30%.
Elsewhere, Thyssenkrupp (DE:TKAG) shares plummeted 2.55% after the group said that workers will be equally represented following the planned merger of its European steel operations with Tata Steel’s.
Thyssenkrupp and India’s Tata Steel last month agreed to merge their European steel operations, creating the continent’s second biggest steelmaker with revenues of €15 billion.
In London, FTSE 100 eased up 0.09%, led by Tesco (LON:TSCO), whose shares rallied 1.63% after the retailer reported a 2.1% increase in second-quarter like-for-like sales for the U.K. The company's revenues climbed 3.7% to £28.3 billion for the first half of the fiscal year.
Mining stocks added to gains on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) rose 0.28% and 0.37%, while Fresnillo (LON:FRES) gained 0.35% and Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) jumped 0.95%.
In the financial sector, stocks were mostly lower as the Royal Bank of Scoland slid 0.33% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) dropped 0.58%, while Barclays (LON:BARC) declined 0.59%. HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) overperformed however, with shares up 0.27%.
Meanwhile, Royal Mail (LON:RMG) was one of the worst performers on the index, with shares down 3.93% as the group is facing the threat of the first national strike since it was privatised after workers voted in favour of industrial action in the midst of a dispute over pensions, pay and jobs.
Standard Life (LON:SLA) added to losses, with shares down 2.17% following reports the investment company's chairman supports the controversial listing of oil giant Saudi Aramco in London, putting him at odds with others in the asset management industry.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady to lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% downtick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% loss.