Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan opted to leave their monetary policies unchanged, while concerns over a potential British exit from the European Union, or Brexit, continued to weigh.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.96%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.67%, while Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.80%.
At the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed left interest rates unchanged and pushed back its plans to hike rates, citing weakness in recent employment data.
The U.S. central bank also lowered its projections for short-terme GDP growth to 2%.
Earlier Thursday, the BoJ refrained from offering additional monetary stimulus and stresed that the positive effects of the central bank's stimulus policies were gradually working through the economy.
Meanwhile, concerns over a potential Brexit persisted as a number of recent opinion polls showed that the June 23 referendum race is tightening.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PA:SOGN) tumbled 1.49% and 1.77%, while Germany’s Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) plunged 2.84% and 3.15%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) plummeted 2.39% and 2.31% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) lost 1.60% and 2.55%.
On the upside, Nokia (HE:NOKIA) shares advanced 0.59% after saying it expects to cross the 95% ownership threshold in Alcatel-Lucent (PA:ALUA) after agreeing to acquire shares and bonds through private deals worth a total of €139 million.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.62%, as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower and investors eyed the Bank of England’s policy decision due later in the trading session.
HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) dropped 0.81% and Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) lost 1.12%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Barclays (LON:BARC) tunbled 1.22% and 1.99% respectively.
Prudential (LON:PRU) added to losses, with shares retreating 1.75%. The insurer made headlines earlier in the week, after saying it raised its bet on the future of green energy with a planned €150 million investment in Italian solar farms.
The group already has a string of renewable energy investments in the U.K., including the planned Swansea Bay tidal power scheme.
Meanwhile, mining stocks were broadly higher on the commodity-heavy index. Shares in Glencore (LON:GLEN) advanced 0.57% and Fresnillo (LON:FRES) surged 2.39%, while Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) soared 3.40%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.32% fall, S&P 500 futures a 0.34% slide, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.48% loss.