Investing.com - European stocks were lower on Wednesday, as investors became more cautious ahead of the European Central Bank’s upcoming policy meeting on Thursday.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.17%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.29%.
Financial stocks were mixed, as BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) advanced 0.65% and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) declined 0.66% in France, while Germany’s Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) and Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) rose 0.10% and 0.43%.
Among peripheral lenders, Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) climbed 0.57% and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) dropped 0.72% in Italy, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) gained 0.29% and 0.32%.
Elsewhere, Carrefour (PA:CARR) SA jumped 1.32% after the French retailer said that strong sales in Latin America helped compensate for falling sales in its core French market and continuing difficulties in China.
On the downside, SAP AG (DE:SAPG) dropped 0.80% after announcing plans to make its SuccessFactors employee-management service available as an option on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s Azure cloud over the next five years.
In London, FTSE 100 slipped 0.14%, weighed by Travis Perkins (LON:TPK), whose shares dove 5.64% after the supplier of building materials warned on full-year profit on Wednesday, due to a poor performance in its plumbing and heating division.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LON:RB) added to losses, with shares down 2.61% even after saying that it is targeting full-year like-for-like sales growth of 4%, after reporting a modest rise in third quarter comparable sales.
In the financial sector, stocks were mixed. Shares in HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) slipped 0.21% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) fell 0.23%, while Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) rose 0.23% and Barclays (LON:BARC) jumped 1.21%.
On the upside, mining giants Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) and Glencore (LON:GLEN) gained 0.29% and 0.98% respectively, while rival Anglo American (LON:AAL) rallied 1.51%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% loss, S&P 500 futures showed a 0.13% slip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% fall.