Investing.com - European stocks slid lower on Wednesday, as Tuesday's weak euro zone economic reports continued to add to concerns over the outlook for global economic growth, while investors eyed upcoming speeches by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
During European morning trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.24%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.06%, while Germany’s DAX edged down 0.10%.
Markets were jittery after data on Tuesday showed that German economic sentiment deteriorated to the lowest level since December 2012 in October, fuelling further concerns over the euro zone's largest economy.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment fell by 10.5 points to minus 3.6 this month from September’s reading of 6.9.
The index of euro zone economic sentiment plunged to 4.1 in September from 14.2 in August.
Data also showed that industrial production in the euro zone declined more than expected in August, while July's figure was revised down.
Financial stocks were mixed, as French lenders BNP Paribas (PARIS:BNPP) slid 0.31% and Societe Generale (PARIS:SOGN) edged up 0.07%, while Germany's Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn) fell 0.26%.
Among peripheral lenders, Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo (MILAN:ISP) and Unicredit (MILAN:CRDI) slipped 0.09% and 0.13% respectively, while Spanish banks Banco Santander (MADRID:SAN) and BBVA (MADRID:BBVA) added 0.03% and 0.43%.
Elsewhere, Airbus Group (PARIS:AIR) rallied 1.03% after the aircraft manufacturer signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s IndiGo for 250 A320neo single-aisle airliners, marking the company's single largest order by number of aircraft.
In earnings news, Danone (PARIS:DANO) reported third-quarter sales that exceeded analysts' estimates, sending shares in the yogurt maker up 4.52%.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.70%, led by Shire (LONDON:SHP), whose shares dove 27.07% following reports U.S. counterpart AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is considering ending the planned £32.4 billion acquisition of the U.K. drugmaker, citing changes in tax regulations.
Mining stocks added to losses, as Glencore Xstrata (LONDON:GLEN) slipped 0.25% and Rio Tinto (LONDON:RIO) lost 0.31%, while rivals Randgold Resources (LONDON:RRS) and Fresnillo (LONDON:FRES) tumbled 1.37% and 1.52% respectively.
In the financial sector, stocks were on the upside. Shares in Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and Lloyds Banking (LONDON:LLOY) edged up 0.17% and 0.19%, while Barclays (LONDON:BARC) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (LONDON:RBS) rose 0.32% and 0.34%.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.19% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.09% gain, while the NASDAQ 100 futures indicated a 0.14% rise.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on retail sales, as well as reports on producer prices and manufacturing activity in the New York region.