Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the minutes of the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve's latest policy meetings and as markets awaited more information on the future of the European Central Bank's next policy moves.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.41%, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.23%.
European equities had recently strengthened amid mounting expectations for monetary easing by the ECB at its next meeting in June and data last week showing that the euro zone economy grew at a slower than forecast rate in the first quarter.
But markets were jittery ahead of the minutes from the Fed’s latest monetary policy meeting due later on Wednesday, as investors awaited further indications on the central bank's view of the economy.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) declined 2.52% and 0.70%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) fell 0.28%.
BNP Paribas was hit by earlier news the U.S. will seek more than $5 billion from the bank to settle a probe into alleged violations of U.S. sanctions.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) tumbled 1.01% and 1.08% respectively, while Spain's BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) slid 0.66% and 0.85%.
Elsewhere, Alstom (PARIS:ALSO) edged 0.12% lower after Chief Executive Officer Patrick Kron called on the French government to back a $17 billion offer by General Electric (NYSE:GE) for its energy units, saying uncertainty about his company’s future is making it difficult to win orders.
In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.16%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) dropped 0.40% and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) retreated 0.76%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) plummeted 1.55%. Barclays (LONDON:BARC) overperformed on the other hand, gaining 0.40%.
Mining stocks were also broadly lower, with Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) down 1.18% and Bhp Billiton (LONDON:BLT) declining 0.81%, while Vedanta Resources (LONDON:VED) and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) tumbled 1.04% and 1.36% respectively.
Meanwhile, Burberry Group (LONDON:BRBY) slipped 0.25% after the luxury-goods maker reported full-year profit exceeding analysts’ estimates.
On the upside, Astrazeneca (LONDON:AZN) saw shares climb 0.55% after Neil Woodford, a long-time shareholder and one of the group's biggest institutional stockholders, said the drugmaker will earn better returns for shareholders by staying independent and therefore refusing Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)'s £69 billion takeover offer.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a steady open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.06% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.05% uptick, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% rise.
Later in the day, the U.K. was to release data on retail sales.