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European stocks open lower ahead of ECB statement; Dax down 0.04%

Published 11/07/2013, 03:34 AM
Updated 11/07/2013, 03:34 AM

Investing.com - European stocks opened lower on Thursday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's policy statement later in the day, amid growing expectations for a rate cut in the near future.

During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 edged down 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 inched 0.03% lower, while Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.04%.

Markets were jittery amid speculation the ECB might cut rates in order to safeguard the economic recovery in the region.

While no policy change was expected from the ECB at its rate setting meeting on Thursday many investors expected the bank to signal the possibility of further monetary policy easing at its meeting in December after weak euro zone inflation data last week.

Investors were also awaiting preliminary data on U.S. third quarter growth, due out later Thursday, amid ongoing speculation over how soon the Federal Reserve will start to taper its stimulus program.

Financial stocks were mostly lower, as German lender Deutsche Bank retreated 0.49% and French counterpart BNP Paribas declined 0.43%, although Societe Generale overperformed, up 0.76%.

Among peripheral lenders, Spanish banks BBVA and Banco Santander slid 0.55% and 0.66% respectively, while Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo and Unicredit lost 0.75% and 0.77%.

Elsewhere, Siemens surged 2.14% after the engineering company said it will buy back as much as EUR4 billion of shares.

Adding to gains, ArcelorMittal rallied 3.99% after steelmaker said earnings rose to USD1.71 billion in the third quarter, beating market expectations.

In London, FTSE 100 fell 0.24%, led by Schroders, down 1.98%, even as the global asset manager said assets under management increased 26.6% in the third quarter.

Among U.K. lenders, shares were mostly lower as the Royal Bank of Scotland dipped 0.02% and Lloyds Banking slid 0.40%, while HSBC Holdings retreated 0.63%. Barclays overperformed however, up 0.05%.

Meanwhile, mining stocks were mixed with shares in Glencore Xstrata tumbling 1.14% and Rio Tinto falling 0.24%, while Polymetal climbed 0.87% and gold miner Randgold Resources was one of the top gainers with shares up 4.69%.

In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a moderately lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% decline.


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