Investing.com - European stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, as concerns over political deadlock in Greece and the effects of the country’s potential exit from the euro zone continued to dominate market sentiment.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.22%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.55%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.46%.
Speculation that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone mounted after Greek political leaders said Tuesday they failed to reach an agreement to form a government, following a May 6 election which left no party with a clear majority.
Greek politicians were to meet later Wednesday to appoint a caretaker government to lead the country until fresh elections can be held in June.
French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas held gains, with shares jumping 2.18% and 0.52%, as did Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, up 2.41% and 1.35% respectively.
German lenders turned lower however, as shares in Deutsche Bank dropped 0.39% and Commerzbank eased 0.07%.
Meanwhile, Eiffage led construction-related companies lower, plunging 7.33% after the U.S. Architecture Billings Index, an indicator of construction activity, fell to 48.4 in April from 50.4 the previous month.
French energy company Total saw shares climb 1.95% on the other hand, after saying a gas leak on a North Sea platform has been stopped after a 12-hour operation to pump heavy mud into a well.
A total of 238 staff were evacuated from the platform in March after the leak was detected. In the early stages of the leak, about 7 million cubic feet (200,000 cubic meters) of natural gas was pouring out each day.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.64%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Bhp Billiton plummeted 1.59% after the world’s largest mining company said it won’t meet its USD80 billion spending target for building mines and expanding assets over the next five years as it sees commodity prices declining.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest, plunged 1.77%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 2.75% and 1.56%, tracking the dive in copper prices.
In addition, Lamprell Plc dove 59.60% after the oil and gas rig engineer said it will incur a “small” loss in the first half, citing delays in equipment deliveries.
Elsewhere, U.K. lenders were mixed. Shares in Barclays jumped 2.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.61%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking declined 2.04% and 0.92% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% increase.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone held steady at 2.6% in April, in line with expectations.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was due to speak.
The U.S. was to produce official data on building permits and housing starts, followed by reports on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.
During European afternoon trade, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.22%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.55%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 0.46%.
Speculation that Greece could be forced out of the euro zone mounted after Greek political leaders said Tuesday they failed to reach an agreement to form a government, following a May 6 election which left no party with a clear majority.
Greek politicians were to meet later Wednesday to appoint a caretaker government to lead the country until fresh elections can be held in June.
French lenders Societe Generale and BNP Paribas held gains, with shares jumping 2.18% and 0.52%, as did Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit, up 2.41% and 1.35% respectively.
German lenders turned lower however, as shares in Deutsche Bank dropped 0.39% and Commerzbank eased 0.07%.
Meanwhile, Eiffage led construction-related companies lower, plunging 7.33% after the U.S. Architecture Billings Index, an indicator of construction activity, fell to 48.4 in April from 50.4 the previous month.
French energy company Total saw shares climb 1.95% on the other hand, after saying a gas leak on a North Sea platform has been stopped after a 12-hour operation to pump heavy mud into a well.
A total of 238 staff were evacuated from the platform in March after the leak was detected. In the early stages of the leak, about 7 million cubic feet (200,000 cubic meters) of natural gas was pouring out each day.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 dropped 0.64%, weighed by sharp losses in mining stocks.
Bhp Billiton plummeted 1.59% after the world’s largest mining company said it won’t meet its USD80 billion spending target for building mines and expanding assets over the next five years as it sees commodity prices declining.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest, plunged 1.77%, while copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys tumbled 2.75% and 1.56%, tracking the dive in copper prices.
In addition, Lamprell Plc dove 59.60% after the oil and gas rig engineer said it will incur a “small” loss in the first half, citing delays in equipment deliveries.
Elsewhere, U.K. lenders were mixed. Shares in Barclays jumped 2.07% and the Royal Bank of Scotland rose 0.61%, while HSBC Holdings and Lloyds Banking declined 2.04% and 0.92% respectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.29% increase.
Also Wednesday, official data showed that consumer price inflation in the euro zone held steady at 2.6% in April, in line with expectations.
Later in the day, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was due to speak.
The U.S. was to produce official data on building permits and housing starts, followed by reports on the capacity utilization rate and industrial production. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.