Investing.com - European stocks were mixed on Thursday, as markets were jittery ahead of the European Central Bank's highly-anticipated policy statement due later in the trading session and amid concerns over the outcome of an upcoming election in Greece.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 added 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.13%, while Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.18%.
European equities remained supported amid mounting expectations that the ECB will launch a government bond-buying program at its meeting on Thursday, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area.
Investors remained cautious however amid uncertainty over the outcome of Greek elections, due to be held on Sunday, with anti-bailout party Syriza leading in the polls.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that Spain's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 23.7% in the fourth quarter, confounding expectations for a slip to 23.6%.
Financial stocks were broadly higher, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) edged up 0.09% and 0.22%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) and Commerzbank (XETRA:CBKG) rose 0.35% and 0.85%.
Commerzbank announced on Thursday that it plans to cut about 100 jobs in London and move another 340 as it concentrates foreign exchange and interest-rate trading at the bank's headquarters in Frankfurt.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Unicredit added 0.18%, while Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander gained 0.27% and 0.57% respectively.
Elsewhere, Telefonica saw shares climb 0.72% amid reports the Spanish phone carrier is considering selling a stake in itself to Qatar's sovereign-wealth fund to help cut debt.
In London, commodity-heavy FTSE 100 inched up 0.06%, supported by gains in the mining sector.
Shares in Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) jumped 1.06% and Anglo American rallied 1.85%, while rival company Rio Tinto surged 1.98%.
Financial stocks were also mostly higher, as Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged up 0.12% and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) added 0.17%, while HSBC Holdings (LONDON:HSBA) advanced 1.06%. Barclays underperformed however, down 0.25%.
Meanwhile, SKY PLC (LONDON:SKYB) shares plummeted 1.30% following news the telecom company and rival Talktalk Telecom are now fighting over mobile network provider O2, in order to compete with BT Group more effectively.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.26% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.29% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on initial jobless claims.